To cool the hose and reduce friction, which is what allows sustained running at pressure - repeated compression generates heat that would otherwise limit hose life sharply. It also contains the contents if the hose bursts and provides the medium the leak detector monitors.

A shoe closes the hose over a longer arc at lower local stress, which suits thick reinforced hose at pressure and is standard on industrial pumps. Rollers make point contact with lower friction and are used on lighter duty pumps where hose life is less critical than efficiency.

Mining slurry and tailings, lime and flocculant dosing in water treatment, sludge transfer, ceramic and glaze slips, drilling mud, and abrasive or corrosive chemical duty. The common factor is that a conventional pump would work but would wear out quickly and unpredictably.

By a leak detector monitoring the lubricant in the casing, which senses the change when pumped fluid enters. Because the burst is contained within the casing rather than released to atmosphere, the pump can be stopped and the hose changed as a planned intervention rather than as a spillage incident.

Run slower. Hose life is strongly dependent on the number of compressions, so oversizing the pump and running it at reduced speed extends life substantially and is a standard strategy. Keeping discharge pressure within rating and the lubricant in good condition are the other two levers.

Yes, and this is a principal reason to choose them - solids pass through the hose bore without meeting any close clearance, valve or seal. Slurries with high solids loading that would block or rapidly erode other pumps are routine duty for an industrial hose pump.

Substantially higher than lighter peristaltic designs, thanks to the reinforced hose and lubricant cooling, though still below what a piston or screw pump reaches. The hose rating sets the limit, so pressure capability is selected through hose specification rather than being a property of the pump body alone.