Hi All,

I am designing a track tensioner for cable/pipe lay.

What I cant understand is why a V shaped pad is advantageous over a flat pad.

I understand the theory but I cant find any calculation formula that would help..

For Example:

a 4 track tensioner, with flat pads. MAX load per track @ 136kN/m, Max Crush @ 13.86Te/track/m, track length req'd 5.85m = est inst. tension of 127kN. (which is the correct answer)

Using the same formula, with the addition of cos(20) to represent the angle of the pads

4 track tensioner, with 140 degree pads, MAX load per track @ 576kN/m, Max Crush @ 58.71Te/track/m, track length req'd 0.65m = est inst. tension of 48.89kN (expected answer 127kN due to shorter track etc)


Has anyone got experience designing tensioners?

Many thanks
MrEngineer.