Hose & Tube Testing

Smithers Rapra is one of the few independent test facilities that can provide both a testing program & technical consultancy on tubing & hoses.

Very few products are used in such a diverse range of applications, they are utilised in almost every industry & can be found in sizes ranging from a few millimetres in diameter to several hundred. The choice of construction material is dependant on usage & application.

Smithers Rapra regularly conducts tube testing for pharmaceutical companies, hose testing for automotive, rail, aerospace & industrial companies from water provision to oil refining.

The range of tests required for hose testing include those carried out directly on the product & tests made on the materials used for the hose construction. Smithers Rapra has specialist equipment that enables the preparation of test pieces from hoses. Examples of the testing capabilities include:

  • Pressure/burst testing
  • Leakage
  • Impulse testing
  • Minimum bend radius
  • Bending fatigue
  • Low temperature flexibility
  • Hose assembly validation
  • Adhesion of layers
  • Kink testing
  • Whip testing of brake hoses
  • Dimensions
  • Volumetric expansion
  • Abrasion resistance
  • Permeability
  • Compatibility / oil resistance
  • Ozone resistance
  • Heat & heat ageing resistance

It is difficult to identify all the tests that Smithers Rapra is able to undertake as there are almost 600 (BS) hose testing standards. In additional there are in-house specifications used by the original equipment manufacturers & other international standards (SAE, ASTM etc.). Below are some of the BS standards we regularly test to.

  • BS 6391 - Lay-flat fire hose
  • BS EN 1360 - Fuel dispensing systems
  • BS EN 559 - Gas welding equipment - Rubber hoses
  • SAE J 188 - Power steering pressure hose- High volumetric expansion type
  • BS EN 1762 - LPG hose
  • BS ISO 11424 - Air & vacuum systems for internal combustion engines
  • BS EN 24641 - Rubber hoses for water suction & discharge
  • BS EN ISO 2398 - Textile-reinforced rubber hoses for compressed air.

If testing is required as part of a product development programme, the rubber & plastics consultants at Smithers Rapra are able to examine the hose or tube to identify possible causes of failure & make recommendations to improve product performance.

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