Computational and experimental analysis of trawl winches barrels deformations

The necessary use of heavy duty trawl winches can cause plastic deformation of winch barrels, known as “rolling”. Numerical analysis shows that the main reason for such deformation is pressure from layers of cable, while other reasons – a “rolling spot” of stress near the rope-barrel contact point, barrel bending and torsion – play a small role. The influence of different factors (barrel sizes, material properties, rope properties, and load levels) on the strain accumulation rate is analyzed. The described method provides a barrel design for new winches and load constraints for existing winches. New rope tension gauge and special software are developed to help the trawler master predicts situation that can lead to barrel plastic deformation.