Silicone Hoses

Silicon is one of the most common chemical elements in the Earth’s crust. It occurs extremelyrarely in its pure state in nature, but often in different compounds. After the discovery and development of different methods for extracting silicates it becomes clear, that they have qualities that set them apart from other elastomers known at the time.

One of the leading advantages of silicone is its very high endurance toextreme temperatures in the range between -80 до 260?C. Also the chemical structure of silicone makes it suitable for use in the medical field, since it is very unlikely to react with other substances, and the silicon itself does not emit harmful chemicals. Different toxicity tests prove that the use of silicone for health purposes in hospitals and clinics has no adverse effects.

Other field of application for silicone hoses is the automotive industry. Many of the components in the modern automobile are made of or contain silicon materials. Examples can be given with radiator hoses, fuel valves, break like components, etc.

Silicon materials preserve their qualities for a long period of time resulting in their greatly extended exploitation period. This makes their application and use in machines and equipmentof various types safe and convenient. The high level of chemical and electrical inertness of this type of material makes it ideal for use in electronic and computer industry.

From this it can be concluded that silicone hoses have many advantages in comparison with hoses made from other types of rubber, for example natural rubber. Compared to other types of rubber hoses, silicone hoses possess the following qualities:

- They can withstand extreme temperatures and abrupt temperature changes;

- Silicones have low reactivity to the substances they distribute, which makes them safe to use;

- They have greatly prolonged exploitation period, which makes them really profitable solution;

- They are not affected by atmospheric influences like sunlight, ozone, rain, etc.;

- Silicone hoses are high resistant to physical strain on the inside s well on the outside. They withstand high pressure on their inner and other walls;

- Silicone does not support the growth of bacteria and mold on the inner surface of the hose, which makes it suitable for use in sterile environments;

- It preserves its form during physical and mechanical stress:

- Silicone is characterized with lack of taste and smell;

- The surface of silicone does not absorb water and liquids:

- Silico ne hoses are not susceptible to corrosion and don’t change their color when coming in contact with different substances;

- The plasticity of the silicon material allows for the manufacturing of parts, products and hoses with different forms, sizes and width.

S ilicone hoses can vary in structure and constitution of the material used in their manufacturing, depending on their intended purpose. The main elements of a silicone

hose are core or inner layer, which comes in immediate contact with the distributed substance, reinforcement, which can be made from different materials and outer covering layer.

- The outer layer is made from silicone material in accordance to what the hose will be used for. It is important that the silicon is of high quality, which can be determined by the richness of the substance color.

- Second layer made from the same material or withsome changes in its chemical contents is covering theinner layer and serves as inner skeleton for the hose.

- The fabric reinforcement is added for more resistantstructure of the hose, mechanical strength and avoiding of torsion. There are different types of reinforcements, most common being from polyester, fiberglass, Nomex and metal (armature). Polyesters have lower prices but their endurance to high temperatures is also lower in comparison with the other types. Fiberglass is the most widely used, when there is a need for the hose to endure high temperatures.

- Outside the reinforcement are added one or more layers of silicone, depending of the mechanical forces it will be exposed to. This is the outer layer of the silicon layer.

– The last outermost part of the house is the color covering.

Silicone hoses are various kinds and with diverse applications. They are used for suction of hot air and gases, distribution of foodstuff and liquids, sterile solutions, distribution of coolants, etc. Choosing a quality and suitable silicone hose is a sure investment, since its long exploitation period is making it very economic. The advantages of the silicon hoses make them irreplaceable in many different industrial sectors, healthcare, the automotive industry and other fields, where the high qualities of silicone hoses can be applied.