Failure Analysis of flexible hose assemblies

Commercial turbofan aircraft engines use flexible hoses to transport fuel, oil and hydraulic fluids. Since flexible hose assemblies are typically layered structures, determining the cause of the distress can be a challenging task for the failure analysis engineer. This presentation reviews typical distress modes, and discusses the process used to make an accurate determination. Typical distress modes include 1) kinking distress or excessive bending of the flex section, 2) corrosion damage, 3) inner liner collapse / blockage, 4) pinholes and 5) thermal distress.