Abstract
Flexible water hoses (or flexible hose connectors) have become commonplace in recent years and provide a low-cost and convenient alternative to rigid pipe. Unfortunately, inadequate designs, particularly with regard to the selection of materials and material parameters, have made some hoses prone to failure. Such failures are often initiated by incidental exposure to corrosive substances commonly found in homes (including chlorides in tap water) that attack and corrode the stainless steel metal braid. A failure of the braid then leads to a rupture of the water-carrying tube. We evaluate the design considerations pertinent to flexible water hose failures and consider a recent failure scenario that illustrates some key points.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
It should be noted that some of the 300 series steels may also be inadequate for use in flexible water hoses [5].
References
M. Morton, in Rubber Technology, 3rd edn, ed. by M. Morton (Kluwer Academic Publishers, Norwell, MA, 1999)
A.N. Gent, in Engineering with Rubber: How to Design Rubber Components, 2nd edn, ed. by A.N. Gent (Hanser Publishers, Cincinnati, 2001)
P. Schweitzer, Corrosion Resistance of Elastomers (Marcel Dekker Inc., New York, 1990)
T. Osswald, Understanding Polymer Processing (Hanser, Cincinnati, 2010)
R.P. Allwin, Failure of a braided stainless steel hose connector. J Fail Anal Prevent 5, 22–24 (2005)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Taylor, R., Eagar, T. Flexible Water Hose Failures: A Case Study and General Design Considerations. J Fail. Anal. and Preven. 16, 333–336 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11668-016-0091-4
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11668-016-0091-4