Hose Liners
High Pressure Gas (HPG Grade) PTFE Tube Liners
For applications where gases are used in the hose at high pressures, or testing procedures above 100 bar (1500 psi) it is necessary to specify an HPG grade PTFE liner tube. HPG grade is also required when high pressures are applied to “penetrating” fluids.
HPG grade tubing is achieved by subjecting the PTFE tube to certain special processes, commonly known as “post sintering”, which increases the resistance of the material to penetration and porosity development by gases in service.
HPG Specification
This specification requires that when compressed air or nitrogen is applied to a sample length at a pressure of 275 Bar (4000 psi) for 1 minute, then the pressure rapidly broken then re-applied for a total of 10 cycles, the sample must not show signs of excessive diffusion when finally gas tested under water.
Because pure gases do not generate static charges, HPG liners are rarely required to be antistatic, but on such rare occasions, a special “inner layer” AS grade is used as described at the bottom of this page.
Note: All sizes and types of Smoothbore Hose PTFE tube liners can be supplied to HPG quality.
In practice, however, HPG hoses are nearly always HW (Heavy Wall) grade, in bore sizes from 6mm (1/4”)
up to 10mm (3/8”)
Anti-Static (AS Grade) PTFE Tube Liners
Purpose
An AS Grade PTFE tube liner is an essential requirement in applications where there is a risk of an electrostatic charge build-up on the inside surface of the PTFE tube which may then discharge through the tube wall. Media passing through which create such a risk are fluids which have a Conductance of less than 10-8 S/m (Siemens per Metre), or 104 pS/m such as fuels, solvents, freons, some oils, some WFI (ultra-pure “Water for Injection”) and non-polar organics which are being transferred at a medium to high flow velocity (more than 2 mtrs/sec.)
All twin or multi phase media, and any non-mixing media, such as powder in air, or water droplets in steam, in gases or in oil, also colloidal fluids constitute a particular hazard for static charge generation, and always require grade AS.
Design & Approval
Aflex Hose AS Grade PTFE tube liners are manufactured from FDA 21 CFR 177.1550 approved PTFE, and less than 2.5% of “high purity” Carbon Black material to FDA requirement 21 CFR 178.3297. The carbon is encapsulated by the PTFE, and in normal, non-abrasive applications will not come loose to contaminate any fluid passing through. Leachables and Extractables testing has confirmed that no loose carbon was found.
HPG/AS Grade Liner
The carbon is mixed into the PTFE for the whole wall thickness of the tube, EXCEPT for rare applications where both HPG and AS are required. For such HPG/AS grade tubes, only an inner layer of the wall thickness is AS grade PTFE, with the outer layer in natural PTFE (see drawing).