You are on page 1of 7

A capstan is a vertical-axled rotating machine developed for use on

sailing ships to apply force to ropes, cables, and hawsers. The principle
is similar to that of the windlass, which has a horizontal axle.

The windlass-anchor system is the equipment to use the anchor. The windlass-
anchor system is composed by the gear system. The windlass should design to
have the structural stability because the windlass is tolerated the weight of the
anchor and the ship. In order to determine the structural stability, the stress
analysis is performed and the optimum backlash is selected. In order to consider
the vibration and the noise, the modal analysis is performed and the result is
compared with the exciting frequency. If the result of stress is less than
allowable stress, the optimum backlash what is the quiet and is good at the
mobility is selected, and the natural frequency does not equal to the exciting
frequency, the gear system has the validity of the design.

Info:

Periodical:
Advanced Materials Research (Volumes 753-755)
Main Theme:
Materials Processing and Manufacturing III
Edited by:
Xiaoming Sang and Yun-Hae Kim
Pages:
1335-1338
DOI:
10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.753-755.1335
Citation:
S. H. Kang et al., "A Study on the Design of Gear System in a
Windlass-Anchor System", Advanced Materials Research, Vols.
753-755, pp. 1335-1338, 2013
Online since:
August 2013
Authors:
Seung Hee Kang, Won Ho Park, Chae Sil Kim
Keywords:
Gear Backlash, Modal Analysis, Structural Analysis
Export:
RIS, BibTeX
Price:
32,00
Permissions:
Request Permissions
Share:
GUANHENG marine Capstan is a vertical axled rotating machine used on
sailing ships. It can apply force to ropes, cables, and hawsers. The principle is
similar to that of the windlass, which owns a horizontal axle. Typically, it uses a
gearbox which trades reduced speed, relative to the prime mover, for
increased torque. Our company designs and produces capstan winches
from simple light load to combined heavy load, which can lift pearl bags
from the ocean floor to 30 ton line pull units for mooring large vessels. Modern
capstan winches are powered electrically, hydraulically, pneumatically, or
via an internal combustion engine.

Features of Marine Capstan:


1. This capstan can adopt electric or hydraulic drive.
2. Configurations are vertically mounted.
3. Warping head of the capstan uses cast steel.
4. Rated pull of the 1st layer can reach from 3MT to 15MT.
5. Max wire speed of this capstan winch is 20m/min.
6. Local control is available for customers.

An electric capstan has a revolving drum used to apply force to lines and cables,
though usually not chains. There are many different sizes, all powered by an electric
motor. Capstans are usually located on the forecastle or poop deck for use during
vessel maneuvers.

Applications
These devices are used during berthing and when casting off to direct and
manipulate the ship's lines. Smaller versions are commonly used for line handling on
boats.

Technologies
The two essential parts of the capstan are the electric motor and the drum, the
revolving element around which lines and cables are wound. The motor is often
mounted below to free deck space.

How to choose
The size and nature of the lines and cables to be handled will determine the
dimensions and the head size. The electric motor will be chosen as a function of
rotation speed, output power and through- or above-deck installation.

A portion of a model depicting a manual capstan in use. The


sailors would coordinate the rhythm of their movements by
singing a particular type of sea shanty as they walked around
the capstan. The tensioned portion of the rope here would hoist
a foresail and could also be used to lift a heavy spar into
position on the mast or to transfer cargo to or from a dock
or lighter (barge).
The capstan equation or belt friction equation, also known
as Eytelwein's formula,[1][2] relates the hold-force to the load-force if a
flexible line is wound around a cylinder (a bollard, a winch or
a capstan).[3] [4]
Because of the interaction of frictional forces and tension, the tension on
a line wrapped around a capstan may be different on either side of the
capstan. A small holding force exerted on one side can carry a much
larger loading force on the other side; this is the principle by which a
capstan-type device operates.
A holding capstan is a ratchet device that can turn only in one direction;
once a load is pulled into place in that direction, it can be held with a
much smaller force. A powered capstan, also called a winch, rotates so
that the applied tension is multiplied by the friction between rope and
capstan. On a tall ship a holding capstan and a powered capstan are
used in tandem so that a small force can be used to raise a heavy sail
and then the rope can be easily removed from the powered capstan and
tied off.
In rock climbing with so-called top-roping, a lighter person can hold
(belay) a heavier person due to this effect.
The formula is

where is the applied tension on the line, is the resulting force


exerted at the other side of the capstan, is the coefficient of
friction between the rope and capstan materials, and is the total
angle swept by all turns of the rope, measured in radians (i.e., with
one full turn the angle ).
Several assumptions must be true for the formula to be valid:

1. The rope is on the verge of full sliding, i.e. is the maximum


load that one can hold. Smaller loads can be held as well,
resulting in a smaller effective contact angle .
2. It is important that the line is not rigid, in which case significant
force would be lost in the bending of the line tightly around the
cylinder. (The equation must be modified for this case.) For
instance a Bowden cable is to some extent rigid and doesn't
obey the principles of the Capstan equation.
3. The line is non-elastic.
It can be observed that the force gain increases exponentially with the
coefficient of friction, the number of turns around the cylinder, and the
angle of contact. Note that the radius of the cylinder has no influence
on the force gain.

The table below lists values of the factor based on the number of
turns and coefficient of friction .
Numbe Coefficient of friction
r
of 0.
turns 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7
1

1.
1 3.5 6.6 12 23 43 81
9

3.
2 12 43 152 535 1881 6661
5

6.
3 43 286 1881 12392 81612 437503
6

15
4 12 1881 23228 286751 3540026 43702631
2

53 1239 28675 663562 15355293 355332128


5 23
5 2 1 4 5 1

Generalization of the Capstan equation for a rope laying


on an arbitrary orthotropic surface[edit]
If a rope is laying in equilibrium under tangential forces on a rough
orthotropic surface then three following conditions (all of them) are
satisfied:

1. No separation normal reaction is positive for all points of the


rope curve:
, where is a normal curvature of the rope curve.

2. Dragging coefficient of friction and angle are satisfying the


following criteria for all points of the curve

3. Limit values of the tangential forces:

The forces at both ends of the rope and are satisfying the
following inequality

with ,

where is a geodesic curvature of the rope curve, is a curvature


of a rope curve, is a coefficient of friction in the tangential direction.

If then .
This generalization has been obtained by Konyukhov A

RESEARCH PAPERS

The Reduction of Capstan Effectiveness by Cable Bending Resistance


A. J. Shashaty
[+] Author and Article Information

J. Eng. Ind 103(3), 319-323 (Aug 01, 1981) (5 pages)doi:10.1115/1.3184491History:


Received June 30, 1980; Online July 30, 2009

Abstract
The simple exponential capstan equation relating output tension to back tension is
valid for most cable applications. However, when the capstan is small and the back
tension is low, the bending resistance of the cable reduces its conformity to the
capstan, and thereby reduces the effectiveness of the capstan. The conditions under
which a cable will not conform to a capstan are worked out. These conditions can be
expressed as a minimum back tension required for the capstan to work. Two
applications are considered. For a typical coaxial cable on the ship cable machine at a
back tension of 5000N (1124 lbf), the effect of bending resistance is negligible. For a
different cable on a captain-pair at a back tension of 100N (22.5 lbf), the effect is
important. The equations used here are also applicable to other cases where a cable is
pulled and bent.

You might also like