Submarine Power Cable Stranding Compression for Watertight Sections
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing submarine power cables face challenges in preventing water and moisture penetration, leading to disruptions in electrical properties, and existing methods for making conductors watertight are complex or insufficient under various conditions.
Innovation Solution
A submarine power cable with stranded conductors that are compressed at intervals to form watertight partitions, using a compression tool to create a substantially solid configuration, eliminating the need for filling materials like elastic compounds, and ensuring water ingress is limited between partitions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If filling material is used between conductor strands to make the conductor watertight, then water penetration is prevented, but the device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention removes the filling material from the conductor structure entirely. Instead of inserting elastic compounds or swellable materials between strands, the conductor relies on its own compressed stranded configuration to achieve watertightness, thereby simplifying the overall structure and eliminating the need for additional waterproofing materials.
Solution Approach 2:
The conductor structure serves its own waterproofing function through its compressed stranded design. The strands themselves, when compressed to close gaps, create the watertight barrier without requiring external filling materials or additional waterproofing layers.
2Reliability
If the entire cable is made watertight using filling materials, then water penetration is prevented, but the ease of repair deteriorates as replacement becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The cable is divided into multiple watertight sections by creating compressed zones at regular intervals along the conductor. Each compressed zone acts as a separate watertight partition, so that if water penetrates one section, it cannot spread to adjacent sections, enabling targeted repair of only the affected segment.
3Ease of repair
If compression is applied at intervals to create watertight partitions, then repairability is improved, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention utilizes changes in compression parameters (force, duration, distribution) to create effective watertight partitions. By optimizing these compression parameters, the process achieves reliable watertight sealing while maintaining flexibility in the manufacturing process and reducing stringent precision requirements.
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 provides a robust and simple construction that prevents water intrusion, allowing for targeted repair by replacing only the affected sections, enhancing the cable's durability and reliability.
Implementation Method 1
compressing the stranded conductor with a compression tool to deform the stranded configuration to a substantially solid configuration
Data Source
Figure 1A~2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
The present invention relates to a submarine power cable comprising stranded conductor(s) and an insulation system, each individual stranded conductor, at given intervals, being compressed across an area to form a plurality of watertight partitions along a length of the of the submarine power cable. The present invention also relates to a method for providing a plurality of watertight partitions along a length of the submarine power cable, the method comprising the following steps: -at a given point, arranging a compression tool around an outer circumference of the stranded conductor, -using the compression tool to compress the stranded conductor, -releasing the compression tool from the stranded conductor, -repeating the compression at a number of different points and using the compression tool to compress the stranded conductor at each of these points, thereby forming a plurality of watertight partitions along the length of the submarine power cable.