Next data set courtesy of agent smith:
Rope data:
[ ] 9.0mm joined to 9.1mm diameter EN 892 'dynamic' climbing ropes
[ ] age of both ropes
less than 5 years
[ ] both ropes were in a dry condition - not wet or moisture laden
[ ] 2 different ropes from different manufacturers (9.0mm Edelrid and 9.1mm Beal Joker)
Test rig:
[ ] Dynafor 5 ton digital load cell
[ ] hand operated winch (lever type)
[ ] rope was held by 3 wrap Prusik hitches positioned either side of the specimen test knot
[ ] load cell was positioned at one of the anchorage ends to record force
Test method:
[ ] initial photos were taken at zero load
[ ] protruding tails were initially set at 100.0mm (accuracy to + or - 2.0mm)
[ ] a series of 'milestone' load points were recorded: 0.0kN | 0.5kN | 1.0kN | 1.5kN | 2.0kN
[ ] indicated loads were induced directly on the joining knot in a linear pull (I did not form a rope sling since I wanted 2 different colored ropes for ease of study)
[ ] Another reason I did not form a rope sling is that the loads required would have had to be
doubled (thereby placing more stress and strain on my rope and equipment)
[ ] at each 'milestone' load, tail lengths were measured
[ ] observations and photos were taken at each milestone load
[ ] load was increased as quickly as possible by operating lever on winch (back and forth motion)
[ ] load was progressively increased after reaching each milestone point - load was not released until final 2.0kN force was achieved.
[ ] tail 'draw-in' occurred as the load increased as follows:
- at 0.0kN = 100.0mm tails
- at 0.5kN = 90.0mm tails (Note: this would be equivalent to 1kN if descending on retrievable abseil ropes - ie 0.5kN force acting on each supporting rope)
- at 1.0kN = 85.0mm tails (Note: this would be equivalent to 2kN if descending on retrievable abseil ropes - ie 1.0kN force acting on each supporting rope)
- at 1.5kN = 85.0mm tails (Note: this would be equivalent to 3kN if descending on retrievable abseil ropes - ie 1.5kN force acting on each supporting rope)
- at 2.0kN = 80.0mm tails (Note: this would be equivalent to 4kN if descending on retrievable abseil ropes - ie 2.0kN force acting on each supporting rope)
(test stopped at 2.0kN load)
Observations / Comments:
[ ] no fracture of any component occurred during the testing up to 2.0kN
[ ] the joining knot did not fail - ropes held together
[ ] no gradual slippage or 'creep' was observed during pauses to take photos or tail measurements - the joining knot held firm at each load milestone
[ ] Easy to untie the knot - even after 2.0kN load (little effort required) - although the upper portion of the knot was cinched very tight, the lower (bottom) portion was easy to 'break' by hand
NOTE: A total of 10 photo images were taken during this test (5 images showing the 'top' aspect and 5 images showing the 'bottom' aspect of the knot at various load milestones). Due to the posting limitations on this website, only 4 images can be shown per post. The 5th image in each sequence is shown immediately below in the next post.
Structure and tying method shown below...



