Chemical Hoses - Their Utility, Making and Uses

Hoses are the flexible, hollow tubes that serve the purpose of conveying liquids from their source to their destination. People confuse them with pipes, but in general, pipes stand for a hard or rigid tube, while hoses are flexible. They have a circular cross section.

As for the designing of hose, it depends upon several common factors such as size, pressure rating and chemical endurance capability, length, weight etc.

Design counts
There are different norms and processes to design and prepare hoses as per their intended use. A tube used for gardening purpose is simply a rubber tube, while those used in industries undergo extraordinary reinforcement to withstand extreme pressure. The use of special materials prevents the hoses from decomposing while dealing with different industrial chemicals. For reinforcement, we use fibre or non-rusting metal cords. Once can wrap these materials around the hose or braid them into the structure. Spiraling is another method used to reinforce hoses.

Applications of Chemical hose
A chemical hose is effective in handling corrosive liquids as well. It provides maximum safety against hazardous material carried through them. They also provide protection for these materials and the environment in which they are used. Generally, these chemical hoses find their use in industries to transport chemicals to their desired locations. These chemicals may include acids, bases, organic and inorganic materials, solvents, paints and hydrocarbons.

Precautions to take
The ingredients used to construct chemical hoses may range from EPDM to Neoprene, UHMBW, Hypalon�, pure gum rubber, SBR, nitrite to polyethylene. These ingredients are responsible for flexibility, abrasion and chemical endurance capability in a chemical hose. However, despite all these qualities, it is important to guard them against pressure and temperature limits more than the one recommended. You need proper training to such hoses and should wear protective clothes protect against any hazard created while using them.

Composition of a Chemical Hose
The innermost layer of chemical hoses constitutes EPDM, EPM, PKM, polyethylene and fluro-polymers. The reinforcement comes with textile braid and cord. Steel spirals are also effective in reinforcing such hoses. To make couplings, they use worm drive hose clamps and safety clamps. For superior chemical resistance, the inner surface can be prepared of polyolefin resin. This layer is resistant to the conveyed chemicals.

To withstand the extremely demanding physical and chemical conditions, these hoses have to qualify against strict executive standard of the involved substances. A chemical hose also conveys acidic products. They are resistant to chemicals and have a non-sticky inner surface. However, all such hoses need proper care and maintenance for a prolong service life sans failure in service. Improper storage, misuse or any other kind of abuse are bound to affect their performance and durability in demanding conditions.


 By Luke Harper


Article Source: Chemical Hoses - Their Utility, Making and Uses