Silicone Hose Failure Modes & Root Causes

Introduction

Silicone hoses are widely used in automotive, industrial, and EV applications. However, failures can occur if design, materials, or manufacturing are not optimized. Understanding failure modes and root causes is key to long-term reliability.

FMEA

Common Failure Modes

»Cracking & Surface Degradation – Caused by thermal aging and excessive temperature cycles.

»Delamination – Separation between silicone layers or reinforcement under pressure or heat.

»Swelling & Softening – Oil, coolant, or chemical exposure can reduce mechanical strength.

»Burst or Blow-Off – Insufficient reinforcement or incorrect geometry under pressure.

Root Causes

»Material Incompatibility – Hardness, elongation, thermal expansion mismatch

»Reinforcement Issues – Poor adhesion or incorrect fiber orientation

»Process Control – Non-uniform vulcanization or incomplete curing

»Combined Stress Aging – Heat, pressure, vibration over time

Engineering Prevention

»Carefully matched silicone compounds

»Reinforcement pre-treatment and orientation optimization

»Controlled curing and batch traceability

»Pressure cycling and thermal aging validation

Typical Applications

»Turbocharger hoses

»EV cooling loops

»Hydrogen fuel cell air circuits

»Industrial high-temperature hoses

Conclusion

Silicone hose failure is usually multi-factorial, involving material, reinforcement, and process. HOTOP’s engineering approach ensures hoses remain reliable under complex operating conditions.