RYCO 24•7 Karratha NOW Open

RYCO 24•7 Karratha NOW Open

New owned and operated RYCO 24•7 branch NOW opened in Karratha.

We are happy to welcome Karratha, Western Australia to the RYCO 24•7 network with the introduction of a Service Centre and Mobile Connector Specialists, located at Unit 1, 12 Coolawanyah Road, Karratha.

Pilbara Area Manager –Terry Stevens comments “we are so excited and thrilled to announce RYCO 24•7 Karratha is now operational for both retail and wholesale.”

The branch has two specialised Mobile Connector Specialists with a wealth of industry knowledge and experience in hose and fittings.

Karratha is the third branch within the Pilbara region, joining Port Hedland and Newman locations. All three Pilbara sites are capable of carrying out hose assembly and maintenance work in particular for major mine sites across Western Australia.

RYCO 24•7 look forward to continue growing within the Pilbara area especially with the addition of our new fleet of RYCO 24•7 Rapid Response Units (RRU) and RYCO 24•7 Plug-N-Play Trailers.

Check out our brand-new RYCO 24•7 Owned & Operated branch:

RYCO 24·7 Karratha
Unit 1, 12 Coolawanyah Road
Karratha, W.A. 6714
1300 111 247
karrathawarehouse@RYCO.com.au

Stay in the RYCO KNOW HOW

Join the RYCO 24•7 Team today, visit our RYCO 24•7 website for more details.

To learn more about RYCO products, news and events, sign up to our newsletter here.

Testing & Validating Hydraulic Hose Assemblies

Testing & Validating Hydraulic Hose Assemblies

RYCO Tests & Validates Hydraulic Hose Assemblies. Have you ever wondered how hydraulic hose coupling manufacturers validate their designs before releasing them for sale to the market?

There are applications that combine working conditions of pressure, temperature, flexing, aging and mechanical loads that engineers must take into consideration.

Think of hydraulic hammers as they pound into rocks, tree harvesting machines as they lift and tilt huge tree trunks, ground engaging tools on backhoes suddenly hitting a rock or root hydrostatic transmissions suddenly being thrown into reverse gear while travelling forward. All these applications and many more put great stresses on hydraulic hose assemblies.

Hose

RYCO tests and validates hose assemblies to the highest temperatures and smallest bend radius to mimic the great stresses and working pressures within various applications.

Common Hose Assembly Validation Tests

1.    Proof test
Increasing the pressure of the hose assembly to 2x maximum working pressure for a duration of 60 seconds.

2.    Burst Test
Increasing the pressure of the hose assembly until the assembly fails.

3. Impulse Test
A dynamic (fatigue) test is required to test the hose assembly to its limits.

There are many pressure changes that occur within a hose over its lifetime, not to mention the temperature changes, bending and flexing. All of these factors demand the hose to coupling interface be able to withstand the most demanding scenarios thrown at it.

For this reason, the Society of Automotive Engineers, SAE, long ago developed Specification SAE J343: “Test and Test Procedures for SAE 100R Series Hydraulic Hose and Hose Assemblies”.

There are also similar tests covered by:

  • AS (Australian Standards)
  • EN (European Norman)
  • DIN (Deutsche Industrie Normen)
  • ISO (International Standards Organisation)

These impulse tests subject the hose assembly to a specified number of impulses (very sharp and quick pressure peaks), at 100% to 133% of the hose’s maximum working pressure, at maximum working temperature, while being bent to minimum bend radius in either a 90° or 180° bend (depending on bore size).

The combined factors of the extremely rapid pressure rise and release, high temperature, and tight bends, over a large number of pressure impulse cycles soon sorts out the good designs from the bad.

These conditions are tightly controlled, to ensure that the hose assembly is subjected to appropriate stresses before being approved.

Read more about impulse testing procedures: Impulse Testing – Using the Impulse Curve in Testing.

Stay in the RYCO KNOW HOW

If you would like to know more about RYCO’s Impulse Testing procedures, contact our RYCO Hydraulics Customer Service team or fill out our contact form.

To learn more about RYCO products, news and events, sign up to our newsletter here.

Impulse Testing Hydraulic Hose Assemblies

Impulse Testing Hydraulic Hose Assemblies

When conducting standard testing procedures on RYCO hose assemblies, the cycles of applied pressure create an impulse curve.

The shape of this impulse curve is strictly controlled to ensure standardised, consistent test results.

The rapid rise and fall of the pressure increase and decrease cycles must fall within the shaded limits.

This happens at between 30 and 70 cycles per minute, with 60 cycles per minute being a typical frequency. This means that it only takes only one second for one impulse cycle.

Example Impulse Test Configurations

For example, RYCO T14D ¼” one wire braid hose with a maximum working pressure of 225 bar (3,250 psi) and maximum working temperature of 100°C would be tested as follows:

  • Maximum Impulse Pressure: 225 bar x 125% = 281 bar (4,079 psi)
  • Temperature: 100°C
  • Minimum Bend Radius: 40mm
  • Number of Impulse Cycles: 150,000

Four ‘unaged’, or new, hose assemblies must be tested.

The rapid pressure increase is like hitting the hose with a sledgehammer, each second for more than 55 hours! It is even more difficult for spiral reinforced hoses.

Spiral Wire Reinforced Hose Testing

For SAE 100R12, 100R13 and 100R15 type hoses the number of impulse cycles increases to a minimum of 500,000.

That is almost 140 hours to complete the test at one cycle per second!

For example, 1″ SAE 100R12 four spiral wire reinforced hose with an SAE maximum working pressure of 276 bar (4,000 psi) and maximum working temperature of +121°C would be tested as follows:

  • Maximum Impulse Pressure: 276 bar x 133% = 367 bar (5,320 psi)
  • Temperature: +121°C
  • Minimum Bend Radius: 300mm
  • Number of Impulse Cycles: 500,000

Additionally, if the hose manufacturer claims higher temperature or higher working pressure capabilities, the hose couplings must be tested according to the higher levels.

Impulse Test Curves

This graph shows impulse test curves for hose types that meet the SAE pressure on the left, and for RYCO products on the right.

Four Hoses on Impulse Test

When impulse testing, the hoses appear to become tighter, and then release back to their previous position.

The point where they are tight is the high-pressure phase of the impulse curve.

It should not be assumed that spiral reinforced hose assemblies will last for only 500,000 impulses in use, or that one or two wire braid hose assemblies will last for only 150,000 or 200,000 impulses.

During the impulse test, all the working conditions of the hose are at the highest and most demanding levels.

In typical applications, working conditions are nowhere near as severe as an impulse test, so in use, the hoses may last longer than the number of impulse cycles that the SAE and / or DIN specifications require.

Using Pressure-Impulse Curves

P-N Curve

(P = Pressure, N = Number of impulses)

This logarithmic graph can be used to estimate the number of impulses a given hose assembly will withstand at given pressures.

Impulse Testing

This point is where a hose assembly is expected to fail at its Minimum Burst Pressure (MBP), which is 400% of its Maximum Working Pressure (MWP).

Impulse Testing

As the assembly is expected to fail at this pressure, it can be considered to fail after one impulse.

This point is where the RYCO hose assemblies are expected to achieve the specification requirements for that hose type. In this case, 200,000 cycles at 133% of Maximum Working Pressure (MWP).

Impulse Testing

The PN curve can be used to estimate an accelerated impulse test.

Impulse Testing

For example, if impulse tested to 200% of Maximum Working Pressure instead of 133%, the hose assembly can be expected to reach only 2,000 impulses instead of 200,000.

The PN curve can be extended to estimate the expected impulses at or below Maximum Working Pressure.

However, it cannot be expected to be any more than a ‘rule of thumb’ as the number of expected impulses becomes so high it becomes less likely to be to achievable or even possible. At this point, the hose will be affected by ageing before mechanical fatigue.

Factor of Safety (FOS)

The 4: 1 factor of safety applies to the hydraulic hose assembly and not to the connector terminations.
Impulse Testing

RYCO Hose assemblies require a higher factor of safety because being flexible, they are subjected to more dynamic stresses and influences than other system components such as valves, actuators, and tube work.

Stay in the RYCO KNOW HOW

To learn more about RYCO products, news and events, sign up to our newsletter here.