What happens to sling stress when the horizontal load angle decreases?

• A. Increases
• B. Decreases
• C. Remains the same
• D. Varies unpredictably

Answer: (A)

The key idea is how sling tension depends on the angle of the sling legs to the horizontal. If two equal-length legs share the load, each leg carries tension T, and the vertical components of those tensions must sum to the weight: W = 2 T sin θ, where θ is the angle each leg makes with the horizontal. Solving gives T = W / (2 sin θ). When the horizontal load angle decreases, θ gets smaller, sin θ gets smaller, and the required tension T increases. So the sling stress rises as the angle to the horizontal decreases. This is why small sling angles are risky—the load on each leg grows as the angle narrows.