Yes, chain stores energy when tensioned, as does anything stretched. And it also stores energy from being lifted off the ground. But the amount of energy stored in the typical span of a recovery or drag chain is very small. That example that Ron shows of a North Sea chain failure probably had energy stored in a kilometre of chain when it broke. And the energy stored is directly proportional to length.
Chain can certainly fail suddenly, and if used in a recovery, as with any recovery equipment, you need to ensure that if the vehicle is being lifted, for example up a slope, that nobody is where they can get hurt if the equipment fails.
John
John
JDNSW
1986 110 County 3.9 diesel
1970 2a 109 2.25 petrol
Bookmarks