Cable

The weight of this cable car is suopported by a wire cable.

[edit] Definition

A cable is a line made of rope, chain or wire that has different functions according to the application it is used for. It can either tie together two points or simply connect them, as in electricity conveyance or data transmission, and can be loadbearing or non-loadbearing. Cables can be vertical, diagonal, horizontal, or may follow a characterisitc catenary shape that curves with gravity to a low point in the middle of the cable.

[edit] Types of cable

[edit] Mechanical

Mechanical cables usually transfer a load between two points, so that an action at on one point causes a corresponding mechanical action at the other. For example:

• In an old-fashioned bell-pull, the bell rings when the other end of a cable/wire is pulled (usually at the front door).
• The steel cables on a suspension bridge transfer the weight of the road/rail deck and passing traffic to the supporting pylons. The cable usually comprises many strands of steel wire that are intertwined for greater strength. Cables can also support lift cars, cable cars, ski lifts etc.

Suspension cables seen here on the Millau Viaduct, France

[edit] Transmission

• Transmission/power cables convey current (electricity cables) and usually comprise one or more wires (sometimes intertwined) that are sheathed with PVC or other insulating material. Fibre optic cables also fall into this category.

[edit] Communication cables

• These cables convey digital data such as for internet and cable TV.

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki

• Building fabric.
• Curtain wall systems.
• Fabric structures.
• Frei Otto.
• Hyperbolic paraboloid.
• Structural glass assembly.
• Tensile structures.
• Tension cable and rod connectors.