Apparatus and method for opening a stripwound hose; method for the maintenance and/or repair of a fibre strand in a stripwound hose; use of the apparatus and the methods

A method of maintaining and/or repairing a portion of a fibre strand of a stripwound hose, the stripwound hose comprising a strip, the strip comprising a plurality of interlocking turns surrounding the fibre strand, the method comprising:

• (a) gripping the stripwound hose at first and second holding points and positioning the portion on an axis of rotation between the first and second holding points;
• (b) rotating the first holding point about the axis of rotation in a first rotational direction counter to a winding direction of the stripwound hose to at least partially detach the interlocking turns of the stripwound hose to increase an inside diameter of the stripwound hose on the portion;
• (c) severing at least one interlocking turn of the stripwound hose between the first and second holding points;
• (d) performing maintenance and/or repair work on the fibre strand located in the open stripwound hose;
• (e) re-closing the stripwound hose by covering the fibre strand in the opened portion of the stripwound hose with a covering element and sheathing it with a shrink-fit tube, after which the stripwound hose is closed again at the opened portion.