Elastic catenary cable element considering frictional slip effect

Conventional analysis methods of cable structures do not consider sliding of cables inside the joint, which may lead to inaccuracy of the theoretical behavior of the structure. In order to develop an effective method for cable sliding, a two-node cable element based on the analytical solution for an elastic catenary was studied. The cable sliding stiffness and the effect of friction were investigated. To validate the proposed numerical method, analyses of two examples given in the literature were conducted. The results demonstrated that the method given in this paper is accurate and effective, and can take into account cable sliding in cable structures. In addition, it was shown that the effect of cable sliding on the behavior of cable structures is significant. It was also shown that the friction at the support hampers the flow of the cable force, leading to unequal cable tensions on both sides of the support.