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A hose is a flexible hollow tube designed to carry fluids 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 (having a circular cross section).
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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.
Hoses are made from one or a combination of many different materials. 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). Other hose materials include PTFE (Teflon), stainless steel and other metals.
Reinforced rubber hose
To achieve a better pressure resistance, hoses can be reinforced with fibers or 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 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, spigots, flanges, and nozzles to control fluid flow.
Specific applications include the following:
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.