HISTORY
The last comprehensive effort towards marine hose life assessment was the SPM Hose Research Project completed by Southwest Research Institute® in 1981. This program, for the SPM Hose Interest Consortium, evolved from an initial effort funded by the Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF).
Hose retirement based on burst pressure testing coupled with a maximum operational life, typically five years, became industry standard practice following this project. However, experience has often shown that time-retired hoses show negligible diminished burst strength, with many still exceeding the OCIMF required 5x rated pressure. Clearly, modern SPM hoses are far more robust than current retirement criteria indicate, and millions of dollars in replacement costs could be avoided if a tool were available to critically assess hose degradation and confidently predict remaining hose life. HoseLifeTM is this tool, bringing SPM hose life assessment into the 21st century with the first comprehensive technical update in this field in 28 years.
Burst testing of expensive SPM hoses has been likened to killing the patient in order to perform an autopsy to see if he was sick. This approach has been justified on practical grounds since no other reliable means have been developed to detect or predict hose degradation. The times demand a better approach, and advances in life prediction methodologies now make it possible.
Hose retirement based on burst pressure testing coupled with a maximum operational life, typically five years, became industry standard practice following this project. However, experience has often shown that time-retired hoses show negligible diminished burst strength, with many still exceeding the OCIMF required 5x rated pressure. Clearly, modern SPM hoses are far more robust than current retirement criteria indicate, and millions of dollars in replacement costs could be avoided if a tool were available to critically assess hose degradation and confidently predict remaining hose life. HoseLifeTM is this tool, bringing SPM hose life assessment into the 21st century with the first comprehensive technical update in this field in 28 years.
Burst testing of expensive SPM hoses has been likened to killing the patient in order to perform an autopsy to see if he was sick. This approach has been justified on practical grounds since no other reliable means have been developed to detect or predict hose degradation. The times demand a better approach, and advances in life prediction methodologies now make it possible.