Subsea high pressure hoses

Paul Boughton

Power management company Eaton’s Synflex 3395-32 and 3394-32 Thermoplastic Hoses is designed specifically to help increase uptime, safety and reliability for subsea oil and gas applications. 

The new high pressure hoses are a market exclusive for 2-inch hoses reinforced with Kevlar to withstand the demanding oil and gas industry in a lightweight package.

“Uptime is crucial to the success of operations within the critical environments faced by the oil and gas industry each day,” said Ulrich Ammer, product marketing manager, Eaton. “Eaton’s Synflex offering helps keep projects up and running with light weight, durable, Kevlar-reinforced hoses that are safer and easier to handle in even the most challenging environmental conditions.”

By reinforcing each hose with Kevlar instead of steel wire, this latest Synflex product development is considerably lighter, more flexible and more buoyant than competitive steel wire reinforced hoses. At less than 1.4 pounds per foot (lbs/ft.) in air, the 3395-32 weighs in 3 lbs/ft. lighter than steel wire hoses, considerable weight savings when factoring in the thousands of feet required for subsea applications. The weight reduction removes the need for specialty equipment to deploy down and reel up the hose, while making it easier and safer for workers to move or carry.

Both the 3395-32 and 3394-32 hoses are built with P40 TL grade nylon core tubes, with two braids of Kevlar aramid fibre reinforcement and jacketed with black polyurethane, which is pin-pricked in accordance with API 17E. The Guardian abrasion protection and patent-pending detection overlay is separated from the base hose by a Mylar film with a linear monofilament to permit gas flow between the hose and the overlay. 

The 3395-32 hose is rated for 5,000 pounds per square inch (psi) working pressure and a 3-to-1 burst to WP ratio, while the 3394-32 hose is rated for 3,750 psi working pressuring with a full API 17E rating and 4-to-1 burst to WP ratio. Both products exceed 200,000 impulse test cycles and can withstand operating temperatures ranging from -40 to 72˚C.

The hoses are currently available in continuous lengths up to 2,500 feet. 

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