Flexible Hose With Embedded Helical Reinforcement Resists Kink and Crush
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional flexible hoses are prone to kinking, which restricts fluid flow, and attempts to enhance kink resistance often compromise crush and burst resistance, leading to reduced flexibility and increased weight or permanence of deformation.
Innovation Solution
A hose construction featuring a tubular member with a reinforcement strip wound in a helical pattern, where the reinforcement material has a higher initial modulus than the tubular material, optimizing kink, crush, and burst resistance through specific material selection and design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a helical wrap is wound about the exterior of the inner tubular conduit to resist kinking, then kink resistance is improved, but crush resistance deteriorates due to permanent deformation
Solution Approach 1:
The reinforcement strip is embedded inside the sidewall of the tubular member, creating a nested structure where the reinforcement is protected within the wall thickness. This allows the reinforcement to provide kink resistance without being exposed on the exterior to cause permanent deformation under crushing loads.
Solution Approach 2:
The hose combines two different materials with complementary properties: a tubular member material providing flexibility and crush resistance, and a reinforcement strip material with higher initial modulus providing kink and burst resistance. The composite structure achieves properties that neither material could provide alone.
2Reliability
If the wall thickness of the tubular conduit is increased to improve kink resistance, then kink resistance is improved, but hose flexibility deteriorates and weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of increasing wall thickness, the invention uses a composite structure with a thin-walled flexible tubular member reinforced by an embedded strip with higher initial modulus. This provides kink resistance through the reinforcement's structural properties rather than through increased wall mass, preserving flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The reinforcement is applied locally within the sidewall structure rather than uniformly increasing the entire wall thickness. This targeted reinforcement provides kink resistance only where needed while maintaining overall hose flexibility and minimizing weight.
3Reliability
If the wall thickness of the tubular conduit is increased to improve kink resistance, then kink resistance is improved, but the hose becomes heavier
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses a lightweight tubular member material combined with a reinforcement strip that has higher initial modulus but is thin and embedded within the wall. This composite approach provides the necessary mechanical strength for kink resistance without the weight penalty of a uniformly thick-walled hose.
Solution Approach 2:
The reinforcement strip is nested within the sidewall structure, utilizing the existing wall space efficiently. This eliminates the need for additional external layers or increased wall thickness, thereby avoiding weight increase while still providing kink resistance.
4Ease of operation
If conventional materials are used for the wrap and conduit to achieve flexibility, then hose flexibility is improved, but burst resistance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The hose uses a composite material system where the tubular member provides flexibility for ease of handling, while the embedded reinforcement strip with higher initial modulus provides burst resistance. The combination achieves both flexibility and high pressure resistance that neither material could achieve alone.
Data Source
AI summary
A flexible hose construction with kink, crush, and burst resistance. The hose is constructed of a tubular member and a reinforcement strip at least partially embedded in the tubular member. The reinforcement strip is wound in a helical pattern encircling a central lumen of the tubular body. The material forming the reinforcement strip has a greater initial modulus than the material forming the tubular member.