Why Metal Hoses and Expansion Joints Are Essential for Reliable Bulk Material Handling

If you handle dry bulk materials, you have plenty of moving parts to supervise. Because maintaining material quality is paramount, the techniques employed to transfer dry bulk materials become vitally important.

Whether you are producing, transporting, or processing dry bulk materials in your operations, robust, reliable, and flexible components are an absolute must. Without proper infrastructure and bulk material handling components, you could be looking at complications like contamination, product loss, and equipment failure, leading to unplanned downtime and lost revenue. Put simply, you cannot afford to risk it when choosing the components that will be moving high volumes of valuable material. This is why metal hoses are vital to your success. 

At Hose Master, we understand bulk material handling, and we are here to help project managers and materials coordinators carry out their responsibilities as smoothly as possible. For the ultimate in durability, flexibility, and efficiency, even in the midst of harsh conditions, metal is the clear answer. Read on to learn more about the key relationships between metal hoses and expansion joints and successful bulk material handling. 

Bulk Material Handling: When and Where Used?

Raw materials in various forms are bought and sold in bulk every day. In one way or another, these materials keep the world running. An industry that handles materials in bulk form at any stage of processing or production will require a reliable system to handle this material. Moving a large amount of any material in bulk allows for the most work to be done with the least amount of labor. Choosing the right components also ensures high efficiency and low risk of accident or other handling-related issues.

Apart from moving materials from one place to another, bulk material handling also enables effective storage and inventory control and may also be used to blend materials. Accuracy, precision, and durable transport mechanisms are a must with materials that could be in the form of powders, pellets, aggregates, and more. Materials could be benign or potentially harmful as well–one more reason why reliable, leak-free components are a necessity. Beyond the high rate of use, internal abrasion should also factor in when project managers choose metal hoses, expansion joints, and other elements that combine to form their bulk material handling systems.

Industries that rely on bulk material handling include:

• Agriculture: grains, seeds, fertilizers, animal feed

• Food and Beverage: flour, sugar, spices

• Mining and Quarrying: ores, coal, various aggregates

• Construction: cement, sand, and aggregates

• Chemical and Pharmaceutical: powders and granules

• Power Generation: coal, petroleum coke, and flyash

• Recycling: paper scrap, wood chips, ash

• Plastics Manufacturing: resin pellets, flakes, and pigments

• Paper and Milling: wood chips, sawdust, and paper trim recovery

• Environmental: leaf suction, grass seed, and recycled materials

Depending on the industry, various characteristics of the bulk materials being handled can help to determine the ideal components for the task. These will need to account for factors including material form, particle size, density, moisture content, abrasiveness, and adhesiveness. Bulk material handling solutions need to ensure material integrity, worker safety, and efficient transfer rates in varying degrees, depending on the materials.

A properly designed bulk material handling system has many advantages, like cost and labor savings, a reduction in cross-contamination, dust control, increased flexibility, ease of automation, and more. However, to ensure the ultimate efficiency and to contribute to a business’s bottom line, the correct components must be utilized. Metal hoses and metal expansion joints offer the best options for bulk plant managers who are designing a new system or looking to replace existing equipment.

Metal Hoses and Expansion Joints For Bulk Material Handling

Across a wide range of industries, bulk material transfer systems need to be able to withstand abrasion, vibration, movement, and the pneumatic transfer of a wide range of materials. Metal components stand up to the challenge, offering strength, flexibility, and reliably long service life for even the most demanding bulk transfer systems. In rugged or difficult environments, metal hoses and expansion joints endure where other materials fail. For dependable transfer of both dry and fluid media, Hose Master’s metal hoses and expansion joints offer the dependability your business requires.

Metal components offer durable connections for dynamic material flow. Hose Master stripwound metal hose assemblies provide flexible connections that can absorb motion, vibration, and compensate for misalignment while safely conveying material in bulk handling systems.

Common bulk material handling applications for metal hoses include:

• Pneumatic Conveying Systems: Carry air, powders, or granular materials under pressure or vacuum between fixed and mobile equipment

• Dust Collection and Ventilation Lines: Flexible, leak-resistant connections that withstand pressure fluctuations and prevent contamination or emissions

• Truck and Railcar Loading Systems: Withstand the vibration and flexing associated with loading and unloading bulk materials

• Feed, Mixing, and Weighing Equipment: Allow for equipment movement and vibration without compromising flow or containment

• Hot Air Blowers: Circulate air through media during transportation to keep material dry and free-flowing

Metal hoses offer several performance advantages over other materials, including enhanced flexibility, superior resistance to abrasion or fatigue, and the ability to withstand high temperatures and air velocity. Stainless steel components are also known for being corrosion-resistant and far more durable than other materials. Taken together, these factors offer project managers excellent movement and vibration control, even in high-activity systems. They can also expect components that offer extended service life, safer and more efficient operation, and superior performance and durability when compared with other hoses on the market.

Common bulk material handling applications for metal hoses include:

• Blower and Compressor Connections: Absorb vibration and thermal growth to protect connected equipment

• Material Transfer Lines: Compensate for movement or misalignment during system operation

• Dust Control and Vent Systems: Maintain integrity under temperature cycling and vibration

• Processing and Conveying Systems: Protect mechanical and structural components from thermal and dynamic stress

Metal expansion joints offer increased movement absorption, reduced mechanical stress, and enhanced efficiency in bulk material handling applications. When piping systems are exposed to vibration, temperature change, and equipment motion, operations supervisors need to know that their components and systems are up to the challenge. Hose Master’s metal expansion joints meet that demand and also help to reduce unplanned downtime caused by component fatigue or misalignment.

Performance advantages of metal expansion joints include the effective management of axial, lateral, and angular movement with minimal impact on adjacent equipment. Vibration and noise are reduced, resulting in a less stressful operating environment. Because metal expansion joints are strong and corrosion-resistant, they are dependable and offer long-term reliability, use after use. Flow liners can be added to maximize abrasion resistance and prevent product entrapment or damage.

Hose Master Metal Components For Your Bulk Material Handling Facility

We have discussed how metal hoses and metal expansion joints are superior to other materials when used in bulk material handling systems, thanks to their resistance to abrasion and overall durability. Now we’ll share some specific product recommendations from Hose Master that can help to simplify your operations while also improving outcomes. These products are useful whether your bulk material handling operations utilize pneumatic dry bulk conveyance, gravity- or vacuum-powered systems. Through the use of positive or negative pressure, bulk materials can easily be moved through a stripwound metal hose. These products are commonly used to convey a wide variety of dry bulk materials.

INTERFLEX™: This high-quality, general-purpose metal hose from Hose Master is crafted using a single strip of metal that is profiled and then locked onto itself. The resulting overlap allows sections of the metal strip to slide back and forth, offering increased durability, flexibility, and service life. Ideal INTERFLEX applications include: high-temperature blower hose, engine exhaust, material loading/unloading, grain vacuum, bulk transfer for abrasive materials, dust collection equipment, outer guard or internal liner for other hoses to improve function and durability.

Ultraflex™: Ultraflex metal hose utilizes two strips of metal to form a durable armored hose and a smooth, abrasion-resistant metal liner to protect materials from damage.

Ultraflex metal hose features a balanced interlocked construction that provides bulk material handling systems with increased durability, strength, flexibility, and service life when handling everything from powder to pebbles while also resisting abrasion and build-up. Ultraflex hose is ideal for use when bulk transferring plastic pellets, grain, wood chips, and other abrasive media, especially when loading and unloading trailers and rail cars.

Poly-Rex™: This is a polygonal interlocked metal hose, constructed from stainless or galvanized steel that offers durable and balanced interlocked construction. Poly-Rex™ offers robust resistance to torsional stress while still remaining flexible. Bi-directional construction offers error-free connections, and Poly-Rex is best used in dry bulk pneumatic conveying, material handling, pellet transfer, and bulk unloading.

Expansion Joints: Metal expansion joints are utilized along with air blowers in material handling systems to protect against vibration, misalignment, thermal expansion, pressure spikes, and other potential sources of mechanical stress or damage. Doing so, they help to reduce noise while also sustaining efficient operation and avoiding downtime or equipment failure. Our expert engineers are able to craft a custom, tailored solution that will work in tandem with our range of corresponding fittings.

Flow-Tite™: This interlocked metal hose assembly features a patented fitting system that offers superior leak resistance and smooth product flow. The extremely smooth transition between fittings is central to the design, as is the internal silicone sealing. Flow-Tite™ metal stripwound hoses offer leak-free connections for positive pressure and vacuum service for full-flow fittings with minimized risk for damage to materials and minimal pressure loss. Flow-Tite assemblies are available in both Ultraflex and Interflex constructions and can replace many other forms of bulk material handling hose.

Pneumatic conveying systems can utilize either low-pressure or vacuum to move materials. Whether you rely on dilute-phase or dense-phase pressure transfer applications, metal hose is an excellent option. These applications are commonly used on transportation equipment as well as in loading and unloading facilities. 

Choose Hose Master For Your Bulk Material Handling Needs

Whether you are moving powdered, pelleted, or other bulk materials, Hose Master metal hoses and expansion joints can offer you unmatched efficiency, reliability, and dependability. Enjoy impressive performance and strength, regardless of the materials being transferred. When you need a reliable solution that’s customized to your industry’s requirements, look no further than Hose Master. Our products are built for movement, designed for performance, and engineered to keep industry flowing. 

Our team of experienced engineers designs and builds products that are made to last. When you choose Hose Master, you’re making a conscious decision to improve flow control, maintain productivity, and help operators to minimize downtime.

As North America's largest manufacturer of stripwound metal hose and metal expansion joints for efficient and safe use in countless material handling applications, Hose Master stands at the forefront of innovation and quality. Our industrial-grade assemblies are manufactured from high-performance stainless steel and specialty materials that offer maximum results, even in high-vibration environments. 

Contact our expert team to learn how to increase productivity and extend equipment life while reducing vibration and system stress. We are ready to help you select the right hose and other essential components to improve your bulk material handling business.