TUBETEC put our tubes to the high pressure test. We tested 1” pressure bearing tubes up to enormous water pressure of 1080psi for 10 minutes. Our customer is developing a new boom system for snowmaking operations and is looking for curved multi-chambered tubing that is lighter and stiffer, yet competitive with the cost of extruded aluminum. The fiberglass tubes performed flawlessly with water pressure over 1000psi.
The carbon fiber tubes, however, failed. The good news is that they failed in a manner you want any part to fail, if it is to fail. SAFELY! We brought the pressure up to over 700psi, but then watched the pressure decrease to 580psi. The CF tube held 580psi for 10 minutes, which was a mystery to us. After removing the safety barrier, it was obvious what happened (see photo). We think we had incomplete infusion on one spot of the R&D tube, and it simply sprung a leak. But the failure was not progressive, which is why we (and you) should LOVE braid. That leaky tube still held 580psi for 10 minutes with no problems at all, still an impressive accomplishment. We will be testing more tubes under higher pressures soon.
