Convincing in endurance test

Spiral hose of polyurethane for conveying extremely abrasive insulating materials

Polyurethane (PU) is the ideal material for the handling of extremely abrasive and problematic materials to be conveyed in many different fields of application. The most recent technologies in the hose sector have strongly extended the range of application and offer an appropriate hose solution for almost any application (Fig.). Particularly wear-resistant polyurethane resists even extremely abrasive materials so that, for example, crushed rock can be transported through a hose made of PU without any problem.

Polyurethane is extremely resistant and achieves an even longer service life than steel, for example, in many applications. This also leads to innovative solutions in the field of wear protection of conveying equipment. The bend is the weak spot here. Now, for the first time, there is a patented method to line conveying pipes and bends with polyurethane, e.g. Master-PROTECT bends from Masterflex AG. Successful installations in industrial establishments and tests by the Brunswick Technical University have shown that they are several times more wear-resistant than a non-lined steel bend and that frequently their service life is significantly prolonged as compared to the other wear protective systems available in the market. This is a cost-effective way to avoid expensive downtimes.

Masterflex AG has developed more and more rugged hose types to prolong the service life. In the many different fields of application, it turned out that apart from the purely material properties, the design features, such as the “interior smoothness”, of the hose also play an important role as regards flow optimization, optimization of energy costs, reduction of downtimes and maintenance intervals as well as cleaning possibilities. All spiral hoses made of polyurethane so far available in the market have a weld due to their helical design. This may be a weak spot because it is usually the point of the greatest attack by the material being conveyed. With a new, patented process, for the first time, Masterflex AG succeeded in manufacturing spiral hoses of polyurethane with a seamless smooth interior. The Master-PUR inline hoses are convincing due to their combination of maximum abrasion resistance with tremendous wall thicknesses and amazing bending radii. As a result, polyurethane hoses are becoming a real competition for the heavy rubber hoses dominant up to now for the optimal handling of problem materials

Basically, PU is a modular system from which new, tailored solutions can be assembled again and again. Also thermoplastic materials have to meet increasingly higher requirements as regards temperature, for example, when handling hot plastic granular materials or other bulk solids, e.g. cement, glass and rock wool, ash or metal chips. Usually the normal temperature of thermoplastic polyurethane is approx. 90 °V during continuous operation, temporarily up to 125 °C. The new type of hoses, Master-PUR HT, from Masterflex AG exhibit excellent properties in continuous operation even at temperatures of up to 125 °C. Temporarily they may even be used at temperatures of up to 150 °C.

Masterflex AG, Gelsenkirchen (D), Tel.: +49 209-97077-0,