noexpert wrote:

Are solid stainless steel rods any less vulnerable?
What alloy is used for major standing rigging; there must be some less prone
to chloride/stress attack, or?
I worked with some higher than 316 plus extra titanium alloy(32?) for
seawater boiler; it was a much better choice than regular 316.
I am not sure if this alloy is being offered in steel rope shape.
Any one knows more about it?
thanks




Just a suspicion, but it seems to me that the problem here is a result of
the swaging process itself.

When the swage is squeezed, there should be uneven compression which would
cause the material to yield unevenly - leading to rather high localized stress
concentrations. In-service vibration, over time, should lead to exactly the
kind of cracks described by GBM.

FWIW, for highly stressed aircraft cables, the terminals (ends) are *Rolled*
rather than squoze...

Richard