ABSORPTION: Absorption occurs when media absorbs into and becomes part of a material. It can lead to contamination, as fluid absorbed into the walls of a core tube may remain there and leach out later.
ANNULAR: A type of convoluted core, typical in metal cores, that features a series of connected rings. Annular metal cores are not well suited to operations in which they move in a repetitive pattern, as the movements can cause metal fatigue and breaking.
BEND RADIUS: A hose’s minimum bend radius measures how far the hose can bend before kinking. This standard measurement is useful when comparing the flexibility of different hoses.
CONVOLUTED: With a convoluted core, the tube’s inner wall is ridged, allowing it to bend like a flexible straw. This construction reduces a hose’s kinking potential and is chosen when flexibility is the priority.
CORE TUBE: A hose’s innermost layer—the one that comes into contact with the system media. Core tube material, which may be metal, silicone, fluoropolymer, thermoplastic, rubber or another material, should be selected based on its chemical, temperature and pressure compatibility with system media and cleaning practices.
COVER: A hose cover is an outer layer that protects underlying layers, personnel, and surrounding equipment. For example, general-purpose silicone covers help prevent fraying of the braids in stainless steel reinforcement layers, provide insulation, and enhance burn protection for operators.
END CONNECTION: Hose end connections, usually made of metal, are where most leaks occur. The performance of a hose assembly depends largely on the manufacturer’s ability to attach end connections.
FIRE JACKET: A fiberglass cover coated in silicone rubber, a fire jacket provides maximum burn protection. Keep in mind that fire jackets connect loosely to the hose and can snag and rip.
FLUOROPOLYMER: Fluoropolymer cores are becoming the material of choice for sanitary applications, due to their chemical inertness, cleanability, and low absorption rates.
FORCE-TO-BEND: The force required to bend an unpressurized hose is just as important as bend radius, but not as easy to measure. The best way to determine if the force-to-bend a hose is too great for an application is to test hose samples with your own hands.
HELICAL: A type of convoluted core, found primarily in fluoropolymer cores, that features a single convolution that spirals down the length of the hose. Helical cores promote flow maintenance and drainability, enabling better flow downstream than annular convolutions.
IDENTIFICATION: Customized hose identification—whether with tags, text, or cover colors—enables personnel to determine a hose’s function at a glance, which helps with safety and plant efficiency.
KINKING: The permanent buckling of a hose, which disrupts system media flow and creates a rupture threat. Kinking can be avoided by selecting the proper hose.
METAL CORE: Metal core tubes are a good choice for general needs, especially when there is little allowance for permeation or absorption. With typically high temperature tolerances, metal cores are an especially good choice for system media at extreme temperatures.
PERMEATION: Permeation occurs when media passes through a material. If an application cannot tolerate permeation, avoid highly permeable core materials like fluoropolymers in favor of less permeable materials like metal.
REINFORCEMENT LAYER: Proper reinforcement layers improve pressure containment and flexibility in a hose. In most cases, the core tube is reinforced by a flexible, stainless steel woven braid, which is layered on top of the core tube.
SMOOTH BORE: In a smooth-bore core, the tube’s inner wall is smooth, allowing for precise flow control and superior drainability because the wall has no irregularities to hinder flow.
TRACEABILITY: Fully traceable products enable a manufacturer to better limit potential losses in the event of a recall. Traceability allows the manufacturer to determine if a problem goes beyond one bad hose.
The terms and definitions for this word search were provided by Swagelok Company (swagelok.com), a manufacturer of a range of fluid system solutions, including hoses and flexible tubing.
