A hose is a flexible hollow tube designed to carry fluids from one location to another. Hoses are also sometimes called pipes (the word pipe usually refers to a rigid tube, whereas a hose is usually a flexible one), or more generally tubing. The shape of a hose is usually cylindrical (having a circular cross section).
Hose design is based on a combination of application and performance. Common factors are size, pressure rating, weight, length, straight hose or coilhose, and chemical compatibility.
Applications mostly use nylon, polyurethane, polyethylene, PVC, or synthetic or natural rubbers, based on the environment and pressure rating needed. In recent years, hoses can also be manufactured from special grades of polyethylene (LDPE and especially LLDPE). Other hose materials include PTFE (Teflon), stainless steel, and other metals.
Dredge rubber hoses have a long story, which features high strength and flexibility. A flexible dredging hose widely used in dredgers to convey silt or gravel. It is resistant to abrasion and wear to ensure long service life. Types of flexible dredge hose include the floating rubber hose, discharge hose, suction hose, armored hose and ceramic hose.
To achieve a better pressure resistance, hoses can be reinforced with fibers or a steel cord. Commonly used reinforcement methods are braiding, spiraling, knitting and wrapping of fabric plies. The reinforcement increases the pressure resistance but also the stiffness. To obtain flexibility, corrugations or bellows are used. Usually, circumferential or helical reinforcement rings are applied to maintain these corrugated or bellowed structures under internal pressure.
All hoses are designed and manufactured to suit the application for which they will be used. The STAMPED procedure may be used to specify a hose. STAMPED is an acronym meaning:
With this information a seller or designer can make an offer to supply. There are other considerations, such as movement dynamics, installation situation, and longevity required. Hoses are also categorized in other broad based application areas, such as offshore, land, oil, water, and chemical.
Hoses can be used in water or other liquid environments, or to convey air or other gases. Hoses are used to carry fluids through air or fluid environments, and they are typically used with clamps, spigots, flanges, and nozzles to control fluid flow.
Specific applications include the following:
These are often connected to either the choke manifold, cement manifold or standpipe manifold.
In some cases, a rubber hose has been used as a weapon with which to beat somebody. This is the origin of the term rubber-hose cryptanalysis.