A composite hose is a hose that is made up of multiple layers. These layers are spirally wrapped around the hose, and made of thermoplastic held together by metal wires. Composite hoses form an important part of transfer operations. The one you choose must be thought about in depth, checking which is most appropriate, and which will operate safely and efficiently.

Composite hoses are used in applications of all types, and across a variety of industries. They are used in offshore, ship to shore, and other industrial industries. For industrial uses, they will be required to have superb durability for dealing with rough handling and loading and unloading. Composite hoses can be used with many chemicals and also petrochemicals such as biofuels, chlorine and sulphuric acid.

The main reasons as to why they’re so popular include; their flexibility, their level of safety, and their high chemical resistance property.

Flexibility

A composite hose is more flexible than a lot of other types of hoses. They are made up of layers of plastic, which move and slide over each other when the hose is bent. The sliding gives the hose easy bending, and a better bend radius.

Safety

Composite hoses are ‘fail safe’, meaning they’re specially designed not to fail. There are two areas where a hose can fail; the hose itself and the end fitting.

The composite hose itself is fail safe due to the many layers it is made up from. There is no direct path for the liquid it is holding to leak through, making spillages a lower risk. Liquid would have to travel around many twists and turns in the hoses layers to reach the outer cover.

The end fitting is considered fail safe as it has a reduced chance of blowing off the hose. A composite hoses end piece is screwed on, meaning it would need to be unscrewed to come off.

Chemical Resistance

Across many industries, a hose that has chemical resistance is required. Thankfully the composite hose holds this property. The bore of the hose can be made from a combination of plastics including polypropylene, nylon and teflon. These all have their own chemical resistant properties, so make sure you choose the correct one for your industry and materials.

So, a large variety of chemicals can be transferred with a composite hose, they are very flexible, and they have great safety features. This makes it an excellent choice for many industrial environments.

Clare Louise