Bend Stiffener Fluid Cooling for Dynamic Submarine Power Cables
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Solution Overview
Problem
Dynamic submarine power cables connected to floating offshore structures experience excessive heat buildup due to low thermal conductivity in bend stiffeners, limiting the maximum current capacity.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a fluid flow device within the bend stiffener to generate a controlled fluid flow, which cools the cable and reduces conductor cross-section requirements, allowing higher current transmission.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a bend stiffener is used to control bending radius and reduce fatigue loads, then cable mechanical reliability is improved, but thermal conductivity deteriorates causing hot spot formation
Solution Approach 1:
A cooling fluid is introduced as an intermediary substance between the bend stiffener and the cable. The fluid flows through channels in the bend stiffener, acting as a heat transfer medium that absorbs heat from the cable and the stiffener structure, thereby cooling the cable without compromising the mechanical protection provided by the stiffener
Solution Approach 2:
The invention employs hydraulic or pneumatic cooling by circulating a fluid through channels within the bend stiffener. This uses fluid dynamics to transfer heat away from the cable, converting the bend stiffener from a purely mechanical component into a hybrid thermo-mechanical cooling system
2Power
If maximum current is increased to improve power transmission, then energy delivery is improved, but conductor temperature exceeds maximum allowed temperature
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling fluid circulates continuously through the channels in the bend stiffener, providing ongoing heat removal. This continuous cooling action enables the cable to sustain higher current loads over extended periods without temperature excursions, as the cooling process operates continuously rather than intermittently
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the thermal parameter of the cable system by introducing active cooling. This shifts the operating temperature profile of the cable, allowing the conductor temperature to remain below maximum limits even at higher current levels, effectively increasing the current-carrying capacity
3Quantity of substance
If conductor cross-section is reduced to lower cost or weight, then material usage is improved, but current carrying capacity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling fluid rushes through the channels in the bend stiffener at increased velocities to enhance convective heat transfer. This rapid fluid movement efficiently removes heat from the cable, allowing smaller conductors to dissipate heat effectively and maintain acceptable temperature rises even at their reduced cross-sectional areas
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Forced cooling through the fluid flow device effectively manages heat, enabling higher current transmission without exceeding the maximum conductor temperature, as demonstrated in simulations with improved temperature management.
Implementation Method 1
a fluid flow device configured to generate a fluid flow inside the longitudinal channel. Thus, the hot spot region of the dynamic submarine power cable is cooled by forced cooling by means of the fluid flow device
Implementation Method 2
the bend stiffener forms a cable hot spot along the cable route between the seabed and the floating offshore structure because of its low thermal conductivity
Data Source
AI summary
An offshore system including: a dynamic submarine power cable, a bend stiffener having a lower end and a top end, the bend stiffener having a central channel extending from the lower end to the top end, the central channel receiving the dynamic submarine power cable with a radial spacing between an inner surface of the central channel and an outer surface of the dynamic submarine power cable along the length of the dynamic submarine power cable arranged in the bend stiffener, the radial spacing forming a longitudinal channel between the bend stiffener and the dynamic submarine power cable, and a fluid flow device configured to generate a fluid flow inside the longitudinal channel.