Rope structures and rope displacement systems and methods for lifting, lowering, and pulling objects

A method of forming a rope structure comprising the steps of:

• providing a first set of fibers formed of a first material;
• providing a second set of fibers formed of a second material;
• selecting the first and second sets of fibers such that elongation of the first set of fibers is different from elongation of a second set of fibers;
• twisting together the fibers of the first set;
• twisting the fibers of second set around the fibers of the first set to form a plurality of yarns, where twists applied to the first and second fibers are determined such that loads on the rope structure are substantially evenly distributed across individual fibers forming the rope structure;
• combining the plurality of yarns to form a plurality of strands;
• combining the plurality of strands using a single braid process to form the rope structure, where the rope structure defines a void space;
• and
• configuring at least one of the fibers, the yarns, and the strands such that a volume of the void space is substantially reduced and a shape of the rope structure is maintained when the rope structure is under load.

A rope displacement system for displacing a rope connected to a load, comprising:

• a rope structure comprising a plurality of fibers, where
• first and second sets of fibers are combined by twisting together the fibers of the first set and twisting the fibers of the second set around the first set of fibers to form a plurality of yarns, where twists applied to the first and second fibers are determined such that lengths of fibers in the first and second sets are approximately the same,
• the plurality of yarns are combined to form a plurality of strands,
• the plurality of strands are combined using a single braid process to form the rope structure, where the rope structure defines a void space, and
• at least one of the fibers, the yarns, and the strands are configured substantially to reduce a volume of the void space and thereby maintain a shape of the rope structure when the rope structure is under load;
• and
• a winch assembly;
• wherein
• the winch assembly engages at least a portion of the rope structure such that operation of the winch assembly displaces the rope structure;
• the first set of fibers is formed of a first material;
• the second set of fibers is formed of a second material;
• and
• elongation of the first set of fibers is different from elongation of a second set of fibers.