Modeling of the Non-Braided Fabric Composite Rubber Hose for Industrial Hose Pump Design

Due to the harsh operating conditions in an industrial hose pump, accurate numerical simulations of the hose with high speed would be significant but tough. The main goal of this paper is to develop a reliable numerical model with the acceptable complexity for a non-braided fabric composite rubber hose used in industrial hose pumps. A finite element model with rebar elements dealing with the non-braided fabric layers is established. Two practical tests for the counter force and profile deformation characteristics of the hose during compressing are designed. The simulation results show a good accuracy. Based on the feasible numerical model, further studies on dependencies of counter force, maximum strain and stress and the area size in contact with the inner surface of the hose on the pressing displacement are carried out, which will help engineers to decide the pressing displacement and cut down the time and cost of prototype testing. The predicted pressing displacements to seal off the hose under different pressures are also given. The methodology of modeling a hose pump hose proposed by this paper is helpful to the fully virtual simulation and design of a hose pump.