Elastomeric Boot Seal With Retainer For Submarine Cable
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing elastomeric boot seals used in harsh environment oil-filled cable terminations are prone to displacement during rough handling or due to internal overpressure, leading to potential failure in sealing the ends of submarine cables.
Innovation Solution
A field-installable elastomeric cable-end boot seal with an integral push-nut retainer made from rigid flexible material, such as thin metal or hard plastic, which provides a mechanical means to retain the seal in place without relying on bonding or chemical processes, and includes axial ventilation ribs to relieve internal pressure by unseating the seal at specific interfaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If elastomeric boot seals are stretched over cable ends to provide sealing, then sealing capability is improved, but the seals are easily displaced during rough handling or due to internal overpressure
Solution Approach 1:
The boot seal is integrated with a retainer component to form a unified assembly. The retainer includes arms that engage with the cable and the boot seal, creating a combined structure that prevents displacement while maintaining sealing capability. This merging resolves the contradiction by providing both reliable sealing and positional stability through the integrated design.
Solution Approach 2:
The retainer is pre-configured with engagement arms positioned to grip the cable before the boot seal is stretched into place. This preliminary positioning ensures that when the boot seal is installed, the retainer is already in place to prevent displacement during subsequent handling or pressure events, addressing the stability issue while preserving sealing reliability.
2Stability of the object's composition
If process-type adhesive heat-shrink boot seals are used to prevent displacement, then seal position stability is improved, but installation becomes impractical when cable jacket cannot be adhered to or when sealing conditions are detrimental
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces the chemical adhesion mechanism (adhesive heat-shrink) with a mechanical retention system. The retainer uses physical engagement arms that grip the cable mechanically, eliminating the need for adhesive bonding or heat-shrink processes. This substitution resolves the contradiction by providing easy installation in conditions where chemical processes are impractical while maintaining seal position stability through mechanical means.
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
The solution ensures reliable sealing and effective pressure relief, preventing seal displacement and failure due to external or internal pressures, while being easily installable and removable without special tools or processes, and is resistant to various environmental conditions.
Implementation Method 1
Prior art elastomeric breakout boot seals are easily displaced from their sealing position... The stretch pressure Ps works in cooperation with the external pressure Pf to keep the sleeve 290a seated
Implementation Method 2
axial ventilation ribs to relieve internal pressure by unseating the seal at specific interfaces
Data Source
AI summary
The boot seal may include an elastomeric body constrictively stretched over an end of a cable and a retainer to grip the cable. The retainer may be a body having a central opening to receive the cable and have a plurality of inclined tines extending radially inwardly from the body with the inclined tines having distal ends forming the central opening. The elastomeric body may have a first sleeve on an end of the boot seal for receiving the end of the cable.