Rubber composition for a cover layer of a hydraulic hose, hydraulic hose, and method for producing the hydraulic hose

A rubber composition for a cover layer of a hydraulic hose, a hydraulic hose and a method for producing the hydraulic hose are provided.

Rubber hoses which are used for railway application have to undergo fire tests as the most critical and important tests. In the past German DIN 5510 norm was the best-known test method for fire tests applied on railway hoses. Since the introduction of EN 45545-2 fire test norm in 2013 (EN 45545- 2:2013), railway hoses compatible with EN 45545-2:2013 fire test requirements are required. EN 45545-2:2013 norm covers three different fire test methods, these are: EN ISO 4589-2, i.e. the determination of the minimum oxygen index at which the hose material will begin to burn, NF X 70-100-1/-2, i.e. the determination of the smoke toxicity, and EN ISO 5659-2, i.e. the determination of the optical density of smoke.

Compared to other fire test methods EN 45545-2:2013 norm requires the most severe fire test conditions on rubber hose samples .

One object of the invention is to provide a rubber

composition for a cover layer of a hydraulic hose with improved properties. Another object is to provide a hydraulic hose with such a cover layer with improved properties.

Another object is to provide a method for producing the hydraulic hose. These objects are solved by a rubber

composition, a hydraulic hose and a method according to the independent claims. Further embodiments are subject of dependent claims. A rubber composition for a cover layer of a hydraulic hose is provided comprising ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) and ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer (EPDM) .

The expression "for a cover layer of a hydraulic hose" means that the rubber composition is adapted to form a cover layer of a hydraulic hose, in particular a wire inserted textile cord reinforced hydraulic oil suction hose. The cover layer of a hydraulic hose is the outermost layer of the hose. Being adapted to form a cover layer of a hydraulic hose means that a hydraulic hose having a cover layer of this rubber

composition fulfils all important requirements for railway application, for example the EN 45545-2:2013 requirements, and, additionally, the requirements of SAE J517 100R4

hydraulic hose standard.

Therefore the rubber composition is highly flame-retardant as it is based on an elastomeric blend of EVA and EPDM. The rubber composition emits a remarkably small volume of smoke density, generates almost no toxic gases when burning and requires a very high oxygen volume for burning even when it is set on fire. Additionally, the rubber composition remains flexible even after a flexibility test at -40°C. Such a flexibility test can conform to the measurement of

flexibility and stiffness according to ISO 10619-2 where bending tests at sub-ambient temperatures are conducted.

Furthermore, a cover layer made of such a rubber composition is ozone-, UV- and weather-resistant.

According to an embodiment the EPDM comprises a content of ethylene of 30 to 55 wt%, a content of propylene of 40 to 70 wt% and a content of diene of 3 to 7 wt%. For example, the content of ethylene is 51 wt%, the content of propylene is 44.7 wt% and the content of diene is 4.3 wt%. The molecular weight distribution can be controlled long chain branching (CLCB) .

According to another embodiment the EVA comprises a content of ethylene of 40 wt% and a content of vinyl acetate of 60 wt% .

According to another embodiment the rubber composition for the cover layer is halogen-free. As both, EVA and EPDM, are halogen-free polymers they do not generate any halogen- containing gas after burning. This is especially advantageous for human health and the environment.

According to another embodiment the content of EVA in the rubber composition is chosen from 60 phr to 65 phr (phr: per hundred rubber) and the content of EPDM is chosen from 40 phr to 35 phr. For example, the content of EVA is 60 phr and the content of EPDM is 40 phr. These are the optimum values for having a rubber composition for a cover layer of a hydraulic hose, in particular a hydraulic oil suction hose, that fulfils the flexibility test at -40 C° according to the SAE J517 100R4 norm for hydraulic oil suction hoses.

According to another embodiment the rubber composition further comprises at least one of carbon black, silica, di octyl adipate, aluminium hydroxide, and magnesium hydroxide. For example the rubber composition comprises all of carbon black, silica, di-octyl adipate, aluminium hydroxide, and magnesium hydroxide. Aluminium hydroxide and magnesium hydroxide are halogen-free flame-retardant agents. The aluminium hydroxide may be fine-precipitated and the

magnesium hydroxide may be chosen from a high purity grade magnesium hydroxide. If a halogen-containing rubber polymer is compounded with a large amount of halogen-containing flame retardant it is very disadvantageous from the standpoint of safety, health of human beings and environmental pollution when it is set on fire because combustion of such a rubber composition

necessarily produces a large volume of toxic or corrosive gases as well as a large volume of smoke. These disadvantages can be prevented or highly reduced by using the halogen-free and low smoke generating polymers EVA and EPDM as well as halogen-free flame retardants like aluminium hydroxide and magnesium hydroxide.

The amounts of the additives may be chosen such that the content of carbon black is around 15 phr, the content of silica is around 20 phr, the content of di-octyl adipate is around 18 phr, the content of aluminium hydroxide is around 124 phr, the content of magnesium hydroxide is around 30 phr, and the content of other chemicals may be around 20 phr.

Other chemicals may be further comprised in the rubber composition, for example, zinc oxide, peroxide curative, antioxidant, co-agents and processing aids.

Another aspect refers to a hydraulic hose, for example a hydraulic oil suction hose. The hydraulic hose comprises a tube, a first reinforcement layer on the tube, a helical wire reinforcement on the first reinforcement layer, a first insulation layer on the helical wire reinforcement layer, a second reinforcement layer on the first insulation layer, a second insulation layer on the second reinforcement layer and a cover layer on the second insulation layer, wherein the cover layer comprises a rubber composition according to one of the above mentioned embodiments. The cover layer may consist of a rubber composition according to one of the above mentioned embodiments. Thus, all features mentioned with respect to the rubber composition for the cover layer are also valid for the hydraulic hose and vice versa.

The first and second reinforcement layers are according to an embodiment textile cord reinforcement layers.

"on" in this context is to be understood that the tube is the innermost layer, the first reinforcement layer is applied on the outer surface of the tube, the helical wire reinforcement is applied on the outer surface of first reinforcement layer, the first insulation layer is applied on the outer surface of helical wire reinforcement, the second reinforcement layer is applied on the outer surface of the first insulation layer, the second insulation layer is applied on the surface of second reinforcement layer and the cover layer being the outermost layer is applied on the outer surface of the second insulation layer. "Applied on" means that there is a direct or indirect mechanical contact area between the tube and the first reinforcement layer, the first reinforcement layer and helical wire reinforcement, the helical wire reinforcement and the first insulation layer, the first insulation layer and the second reinforcement layer, the second reinforcement layer and the second insulation layer, and the second

insulation layer and the cover layer. In case of an indirect mechanical contact area there might be applied one or more additional layers between the respective layers.

The size of the hydraulic hose, that is the diameter of the hydraulic hose, depends on its application in the railway.

The inner diameter, that is the diameter of the inner surface of the tube may be, for example, 19 mm or 32 mm, the outer diameter, that is the diameter of the outer surface of the cover layer may be 32.6 mm or 46 mm, for example. The

thickness of the wall of the hose, that is the thickness of all layers together might be, for example, 6.8 mm or 7 mm. The hydraulic hose may be used in railway applications as it fulfils the EN 45545-2: 2013 norm requirements and the SAE J517 100R4 hydraulic rubber hose norm. Additionally, other diameters and wall thicknesses according to the hydraulic hose standard SAE J517 100R4 can be chosen as well. Thus, the inner diameter (minimum value) can be chosen from the range of 18.2 mm to 100 mm and the outer diameter (maximum value) can be chosen from the range of 34.9 mm to 120.7 mm. Following sizes are according to SAE J517 100R4 standard possible:

According to another embodiment the tube of the hydraulic hose comprises a material being halogen-free. Therefore, also the tube material does not generate any halogen-containing gas after burning. According to another embodiment the material of the tube comprises an acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) . The amount of the NBR may be 100 phr. Alternatively, the tube comprises a blend of styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) and acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) .

According to another embodiment the NBR comprises a content of acrylonitrile of less than 30 wt%, for example 28 wt%.

This is a reduced amount of acrylonitrile in the NBR leading to an improved flexibility after the cold flexibility test at -40°C. This is important to fulfil the requirements of the SAE J517 100R4 hydraulic rubber hose norm. Thus, the

hydraulic hose has a good resistance with respect to cold temperature due to the materials for the tube and the cover layer .

According to another embodiment the hydraulic hose comprises a tube material further comprising at least one of carbon black, silica, kaolin, di-octyl adipate, aluminium hydroxide, and magnesium hydroxide. According to one embodiment the tube material comprises all of carbon black, silica, kaolin, dip- octyl adipate, aluminium hydroxide, and magnesium hydroxide. Thus the halogen-free NBR is compounded with the halogen-free flame retardant aluminium hydroxide and magnesium hydroxide.

The amount of the additives may be chosen such that carbon black is added to the NBR with an amount of around 15 phr, silica with an amount of around 20 phr, kaolin with an amount of around 15 phr, di-octyl adipate with an amount of around 9 phr, aluminium hydroxide with an amount of around 100 phr, magnesium hydroxide with an amount of around 38 phr, and other chemicals like zinc oxide, peroxide curative,

antioxidant, co-agents and processing aids with an amount of around 35 phr. The aluminium hydroxide may be fine

precipitated and the magnesium hydroxide may have a high purity grade. According to an embodiment the first and/or second reinforcement layer comprises a polyester fabric. Furthermore the first and/or second insulation layer may comprise at least one of styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) , acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) and chloroprene rubber (CR) . For example, the first and/or second insulation layer may

comprise a poly blend of SBR, NBR and CR. According to another embodiment the helical wire reinforcement comprises steel wire.

Further, a method for producing a hydraulic hose according to the above mentioned embodiments is provided. The method comprises the steps:

- providing calendared uncured materials of the rubber composition for the cover layer and of the tube,

- providing a steel mandrel,

- wrapping the uncured material of the tube on the mandrel,

- wrapping a first reinforcement layer on the uncured

material of the tube,

- forming a helical wire reinforcement on the first

reinforcement layer,

- wrapping a first insulation layer on the helical wire reinforcement ,

a second reinforcement layer on the first insulation layer, and a second insulation layer on the second reinforcement layer,

- wrapping the uncured material of the rubber composition for the cover layer on the second insulation layer, and

- curing the wrapped layers.

With this method a hydraulic hose according to the above mentioned embodiments may be produced. Thus, all features mentioned with respect to the hydraulic hose apply also for the method and vice versa. The mandrel is according to one embodiment made of rigid steel and may rotate in one direction.

According to one embodiment the wrapping of the uncured materials of the rubber composition and the tube takes place under strain. Thus, the resistance of the uncured materials against tearing when the materials are stretched, i. e. the green strength, is a key criteria of the uncured materials which is fulfilled by the materials for the tube and the cover layer as described here.

The green strength of the uncured materials of the rubber composition for the cover layer and of the tube can be tested by laboratory scaling studies with a tensiometer.

The uncured materials of the rubber composition for the cover layer and of the tube may be wrapped as multilayers.

The curing may take place in a saturated steam atmosphere, for example in an autoclave. The curing may be performed for example for 90 minutes and at 4 bar steam pressure at a temperature of 152°C.

After curing, the hydraulic hose may be removed or ejected from the mandrel.

According to an embodiment, before curing there is a

polyamide bandage wrapped on the outer surface of the cover layer, i.e. on the wrapped layers.

Additional advantages, advantageous embodiments and

developments are explained in the following in connection with the figures and examples. Fig. 1A shows a schematic sectional view of an exemplary hydraulic hose.

Fig. IB shows a schematic perspective view of the hydraulic hose .

Fig. 2 to 7 show pictures of exemplary samples before and after fire tests.

In the examples and figures, like parts are designated by like numerals. The depicted parts and their proportions are not to scale, rather some parts as for example layers may be depicted exaggerated large in order to improve the

presentability .

With respect to Figures 1A and IB, the tube 10 is shown as the innermost layer of the hydraulic hose, the first

reinforcement layer 20 applied on the tube 10, the helical wire reinforcement 30 applied on the first reinforcement layer 20, the first insulation layer 40 applied on the helical wire reinforcement 30, the second reinforcement layer 50 applied on the first insulation layer 40, the second insulation layer 60 applied on the second reinforcement layer 50 and the cover layer 70 applied on the second insulation layer 60 are shown as well, in a schematic sectional view (Figure 1A) and a schematic perspective view (Figure IB) . The hydraulic hose is an oil suction hose.

The first and second reinforcement layers 20, 50 may be textile cord reinforcement layers and comprise polyester fabric, the first and second insulation layer 40, 60 comprise at least one of styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) , acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) and chloroprene rubber (CR) ,

preferably SBR, NBR and CR in form of a poly-blend, the helical wire reinforcement 30 comprises a spring steel wire. The compositions for the tube 10 and the cover 70 are given in Table 1.

Table 1

The other chemicals include, for example zinc oxide, peroxide curative, anti-oxidant, co-agents and processing aids. The NBR has a content of acrylonitrile of 28 wt%. The EPDM has a content of ethylene of 51 wt%, of propylene of 44.7 wt% and of diene of 4.3 wt%. The EVA has a content of ethylene of 40 wt% and a content of vinyl acetate of 60 wt%.

Hydraulic oil suction hoses were made from a material for the tube 10 and a rubber composition for the cover layer 70 according to Table 1 according to the following procedure. An uncured material for the tube 10 is wrapped as multilayer on a rigid steel mandrel which is rotating in one direction. The first reinforcement layer 20, the helical wire reinforcement 30, the first insulation layer 40, the second reinforcement layer 50 and the second insulation layer 60 are wrapped on the uncured material for the tube 10. The uncured material for the rubber composition for the cover layer 70 is wrapped as multilayer on the second insulation layer 60. A polyamide bandage is wrapped on the layer sequence. The layer sequence is cured in saturated steam in an autoclave for 90 minutes at 3.2 bar steam pressure at 145°C. Afterwards, the hydraulic hose is ejected from the steel mandrel.

Two examples of hydraulic oil suction hoses with tube and cover materials according to table 1 were made for fire testing according to EN 45545-2:2013. For each test several pieces of a hydraulic oil suction hose of example 1 and of example 2 were tested and the mean value of the results was calculated .

According to example 1, the weight of the NBR for the tube 10 is 200 g/m ² , the weight of the polyester fabric for the first and second reinforcement layer 20, 50 is 150 g/m ² , the weight of the SBR for the first and second insulation layer 40, 60 is 120 g/m ² , the weight of the steel wire for the helical wire reinforcement 30 is 77 g/m ² and the weight of the rubber composition for the cover layer 70 is 286 g/m ² . The diameter of the inner surface of the tube 10 is 19 mm, the diameter of the outer surface of the cover layer 70 is 32.6 mm, the wall thickness of the hose is 6.8 mm and the overall nominal weight is 833 g/m ² .

According to example 2 the weight of the material of the tube 10 is 334 g/m ² , the weight of the polyester fabric for the first and second reinforcement layer 20, 50 is 231 g/m ² , the weight of the SBR for the first and second insulation layer 40, 60 is 215 g/m ² , the weight of the steel wire of the helical wire reinforcement 30 is 103 g/m ² , and the weight of the rubber composition of the cover layer 70 is 412 g/m ² . The diameter of the inner surface of the tube 10 is 32 mm, the diameter of the outer surface of the cover layer 70 is 46 mm, the wall thickness of the hose is 7 mm and the overall nominal weight of the hose is 1295 g/m ² .

Several pieces of both examples were subjected to tests according to EN 45545-2:2013. The minimum oxygen index at which the hose material begins to burn is determined in accordance with the procedure of EN ISO 4589-2. The procedure according to EN ISO 5659-2 is performed to determine the smoke generation, i.e. the optical density, by a single chamber test, and the procedure of NF X 70-100-1/-2 is performed to determine the dimensionless toxicity index

CITNLP ( ^¾ t a test temperature of 600°C and with samples each having a total mass of 1 gram) . The test conditions are applied for materials requiring the R22 (application of the hose inside the railway) and R23 (application of the hose outside of the railway) conditions.

The results of the mentioned tests are summarized in Table 2.

Table 2 LOI is the limiting oxygen index, OI¾rr refers to the critical index of toxicity (which is determined by summing up the measured concentrations of the gas components C0 ₂ , CO,

HF, HC1, HBr, HCN, S0 ₂ , and NO _x) . The maximal smoke density DS _max corresponds to an irradiance of 25 kW/m ² with a pilot flame .

As can be seen from Table 2 the requirements for the

application of the hydraulic hose inside the railway (R22) and outside of the railway (R23) are fulfilled for examples 1 and 2. Thus, the hydraulic hose according to the examples meet the HL1-HL2 levels (HL: hazard level) for R22

requirements according to EN 45545-2:2013 standard for internal usage and the HL1-HL2-HL3 levels for R23

requirements according to EN 45545-2:2013 standard for outside usage.

Figures 2 to 7 show pictures of the samples before and after the respective tests. Figures 2A, 3A and 4A refer to example 1 before the tests, Figures 2B, 3B, 4B refer to example 1 after the tests. Figures 5A, 6A, 7A refer to example 2 before the tests and Figures 5B, 6B, 7B refer to example 2 after the tests. Figures 2 and 5 show pictures of the samples before and after the test according to EN ISO 4589-2, Figures 3 and 6 show pictures of the samples before and after the test according to EN ISO 5659-2 and Figures 4 and 7 show pictures of the samples before and after the test according to NF X 70-100-1/-2.

The scope of protection of the invention is not limited to the examples given hereinabove. The invention is embodied in each novel characteristic and each combination of

characteristics, which particularly includes every

combination of any features which are stated in the claims, even if this feature or this combination of features is not explicitly stated in the claims or in the examples.