A hose is a flexible hollow

tube Tube or tubes may refer to: * ''Tube'' (2003 film), a 2003 Korean film * ''The Tube'' (TV series), a music related TV series by Channel 4 in the United Kingdom * "Tubes" (Peter Dale), performer on the Soccer AM television show * Tube (band), a ...

designed to carry

fluid In physics, a fluid is a liquid, gas, or other material that continuously deforms (''flows'') under an applied shear stress, or external force. They have zero shear modulus, or, in simpler terms, are substances which cannot resist any shear ...

s from one location to another. Hoses are also sometimes called '' pipes'' (the word ''pipe'' usually refers to a rigid tube, whereas a hose is usually a flexible one), or more generally '' tubing''. The shape of a hose is usually

cylindrical A cylinder (from ) has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base. A cylinder may also be defined as an infini ...

(having a circular cross section). Hose design is based on a combination of application and performance. Common factors are size, pressure rating, weight, length, straight hose or coilhose, and chemical compatibility. Applications mostly use nylon, polyurethane, polyethylene, PVC, or synthetic or natural rubbers, based on the environment and pressure rating needed. In recent years, hoses can also be manufactured from special grades of polyethylene ( LDPE and especially

LLDPE Linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) is a substantially linear polymer (polyethylene), with significant numbers of short branches, commonly made by copolymerization of ethylene with longer-chain olefins. Linear low-density polyethylene differs s ...

). Other hose materials includ
PTFE
( Teflon),

stainless steel Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...

, and other metals. Dredge rubber hoses have a long story, which features high strength and flexibility. A flexible dredging hose widely used in dredgers to convey silt or gravel. It is resistant to abrasion and wear to ensure long service life. Types of flexible dredge hose include the floating rubber hose, discharge hose, suction hose, armored hose and ceramic hose.

Reinforced rubber hose

To achieve a better pressure resistance, hoses can be reinforced with fibers or a steel cord. Commonly used reinforcement methods are braiding, spiraling, knitting and wrapping of fabric plies. The reinforcement increases the pressure resistance but also the stiffness. To obtain flexibility, corrugations or bellows are used. Usually, circumferential or helical reinforcement rings are applied to maintain these corrugated or bellowed structures under internal pressure.

Applications

Hoses can be used in water or other

liquid A liquid is a nearly incompressible fluid that conforms to the shape of its container but retains a (nearly) constant volume independent of pressure. As such, it is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, gas, a ...

environments, or to convey air or other gases. Hoses are used to carry fluids through air or fluid environments, and they are typically used with clamps,

spigot A tap (also spigot or faucet: see usage variations) is a valve controlling the release of a liquid or gas. Nomenclature United Kingdom * Tap is used in the United Kingdom and most of the Commonwealth for any everyday type of valve, partic ...

s, flanges, and

nozzle A nozzle is a device designed to control the direction or characteristics of a fluid flow (specially to increase velocity) as it exits (or enters) an enclosed chamber or pipe. A nozzle is often a pipe or tube of varying cross sectional area, a ...

s to control fluid flow. Specific applications include the following: * A garden hose is used to water plants in a garden or lawn, or to convey water to a

sprinkler Sprinkler may refer to: * Irrigation sprinkler, a device for watering lawns or crops * Fire sprinkler, a device for fire suppression * Sprinkler (dance), a dance move See also * * Feynman sprinkler A Feynman sprinkler, also referred to as a F ...

for the same purpose. * A tough hose is used to water crops in agriculture for drip irrigation. * A fire hose is used by

firefighter A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...

s to convey water to the site of a fire. * Air hoses are used in underwater diving to carry air from a surface compressor or from air tanks. (See also snorkeling.) Industrial uses for operating flexible machinery and worktable tooling such as pneumatic screw drivers, grinders, staplers, etc. * Hoses have been used in air brake systems ever since the technology was invented by George Westinghouse in 1868. This includes: ** Railway air brake hoses used between

locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...

s and

railroad car A railroad car, railcar (American and Canadian English), railway wagon, railway carriage, railway truck, railwagon, railcarriage or railtruck (British English and UIC), also called a train car, train wagon, train carriage or train truck, is a ...

s ** Truck air brake hoses used between tractors and semi-trailers * Vacuum hoses ** Vacuum brake hoses have been used in Vacuum brake systems ever since the technology was invented in the mid-1860s. ** Vacuum cleaners often have corrugated flexible vacuum hoses to connect the cleaning head to the motor. * In building services, metal or plastic hoses are used to move water around a building; whilst

air duct Ducts are conduits or passages used in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) to deliver and remove air. The needed airflows include, for example, ''supply air'', ''return air'', and ''exhaust air''. Ducts commonly also deliver '' ...

s are used to move air around (see air conditioning). They can also be used to take out vibration, and thermal or settlement movement. * Automotive hoses are used in automobiles to move fluids around for use in cooling,

lubrication Lubrication is the process or technique of using a lubricant to reduce friction and wear and tear in a contact between two surfaces. The study of lubrication is a discipline in the field of tribology. Lubrication mechanisms such as fluid-lubric ...

, and/or hydraulics. Hoses are also used to convey pressure or vacuum signals to control circuits or gauges, as well as conveying vacuum to heating, cooling, brake, and/or locking systems. * In

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

and medicine, hoses (usually called ''tubes'') are used to move liquid chemicals or gases around. * A fuel hose carries fuel. * In the oil industry high pressure hoses are used to move liquids under high pressures. Typical uses are for kill and choke lines, cement lines and Kelly hose. These are often connected to either the choke manifold, cement manifold or standpipe manifold. In some cases, a rubber hose has been used as a weapon with which to beat somebody. This is the origin of the term

rubber-hose cryptanalysis In cryptography, rubber-hose cryptanalysis is a euphemism for the extraction of cryptographic secrets (e.g. the password to an encrypted file) from a person by coercion or torture—such as beating that person with a rubber hose, hence the nam ...

Reinforced rubber hose

Applications

See also

References

Further reading