Hose With Interengaging Helical Layers For Bending Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Hoses used in cryogenic conditions and for transporting fluids are prone to damage from localized bending, impact, and external mechanical events due to low bending stiffness and susceptibility to wear, which existing technologies fail to adequately address.
Innovation Solution
A hose design featuring a tubular body with inner and outer helical gripping members, an elongate member with interengaging longitudinal edges, and buoyancy chambers to enhance mechanical protection, flexibility, and thermal insulation, while maintaining structural integrity under axial tension.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the hose is made with flexible materials to ensure flexibility, then the hose can bend and move, but it becomes susceptible to damaging sharp localized bending and impact
Solution Approach 1:
The hose is divided into multiple functional layers: an inner flexible tubular body for bending capability, an intermediate elongate member with interengaging edges for bending radius control, and an outer protective layer for impact resistance. This segmentation allows each layer to specialize in one function without compromising the others.
Solution Approach 2:
The hose combines multiple materials with different properties: flexible polymer materials for the tubular body, rigid or semi-rigid materials for the elongate member with interengaging edges, and protective materials for the outer layer. This composite structure integrates flexibility, bending control, and impact resistance in a single hose assembly.
2Ease of manufacture
If the hose structure is simplified to reduce complexity, then manufacturing becomes easier, but protection against external mechanical events is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The elongate member with interengaging edges is pre-formed and integrated into the hose structure before the hose is put into service. This preliminary structuring provides mechanical protection and bending control without requiring complex assembly procedures during installation or maintenance.
Solution Approach 2:
The hose uses a tubular body constructed from flexible material layers that can be manufactured using conventional extrusion or lamination processes. These flexible shells maintain structural integrity while allowing the hose to conform to routing requirements, balancing manufacturability with protective functionality.
3Strength
If the hose uses conventional fabric layers for strength, then the structure can carry fluid under pressure, but it lacks protection against wear and impact
Solution Approach 1:
The hose structure nests multiple functional layers within each other: the pressure-carrying fabric layers are nested within the flexible tubular body, which is in turn nested within the protective outer layers and the elongate member structure. This nested arrangement allows each layer to contribute its specific strength characteristics while being protected by outer layers.
Solution Approach 2:
The outer protective layers and the elongate member with interengaging edges serve as beforehand cushioning against impact and wear. These layers absorb mechanical shocks and wear forces before they can reach the inner pressure-carrying fabric layers, preserving their integrity and extending hose service life.
Data Source
AI summary
A hose (10) comprising a tubular body (12) of flexible material arranged between an inner and an outer helically wound wire (22, 24). The hose (10) further comprises an elongate member having opposing longitudinal edges, the elongate member being helically wound around the tubular body such that the opposing longitudinal edges of the layer are in an adjacent or overlapping arrangement, wherein each longitudinal edge includes a formation capable of interengaging with a cooperating formation on the opposing longitudinal edge.