How does the system function? – Tri-Bolt Breakaway Hose®
The system has a flapper valve on each end, one in a position that you are familiar with and the other on the outside of the breakaway flange. The breakaway as you can see from the pictures and drawings is a three-bolt flange with the bolts engineered to release after app. 1200 pounds of force is applied to them. To put this in perspective a regular hose assembly will not fail until 5,000 pounds plus is exerted upon the hose.
This is typically far more than either the truck or stationary piping is designed to withstand. The flapper, as you can see will seal “behind “ the breakaway flange forming a seal on both sides. I think that it is also apparent by the pictures and the drawings that the breakaway flange is almost imperceptible, needs to be only on one-side of the hose and will not interfere in any way with operation. It is light-weight and streamlined. The bolts are engineered with existing and proven technology and are familiar to many in our industry as reliable. I have attached test documents showing the breakaway characteristics of the bolts.
The flappers are held in the open position by a compression spring. This spring (obviously of material compatible with the medium) is light weight and very durable, in fact there is no difference in weight between this new system and older competing products. The spring will be one piece from end- to-end and will have the spring part occupying about two feet in the middle of the hose. The spring will have on each side (again this is one piece) straight metal spring steel that will insert into the flapper holding it open. This basically looks like a two foot spring with about 9 feet of straight spring steel protruding from each side. The introduction of advanced spring technology has several important advantages:
- The amount of axial force (meaning the force exerted outward from the spring by the straight steel “arms”) is measurable to the pound unlike other products where this force is estimated.
- It allows for ease of assembly as each spring will be exactly the same and there will be little or no customization and therefore reliability of field operations.
- It allows for specialty assemblies to be easily made, ex: if a customer want a 2” x 20” hose with higher/lower pressures than a typical assembly a spring can be easily made to accommodate this request with its unusual operating pressure
The LifeGuard Tri-Bolt Breakaway Hose is designed to increase the safety of your hose and facility by incorporating protection against the unintended pull-away of tank trucks, railcars, barges and ships. Utilizing an Engineered Compression Spring® system with two non-return valves installed within each fitting, we have now included a multi-patent pending Tri-Bolt Flange System® with three shear bolts on one fitting that separates under a controlled condition and prevents product loss in the event of an emergency separation.
What is Unique About the Tri-Bolt System?
The LifeGuard Tri-Bolt Breakaway Hose is designed to separate at any angle when subjected to a designated pull force. In case of separation, its patent pending design assures that not less than two bolts will separate causing the internal valves to engage and the piping to remain intact with flow stopped on both ends of the hose. The LifeGuard Tri-Bolt Breakaway Hose is combined with a UHMWP tube chemical transfer hose designed to meet the bulk hauling and chemical industries’ most demanding requirements. It is light weight, flexible but also rugged. Chemical UHMWP will handle chemicals with a phase change to gas down to 60°F.