Control and Supply Unit for Subsea Actuator Maintenance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing control and supply units for actuating devices in the oil and natural gas production field lack a compact, easily accessible design that meets relevant standards, particularly for submarine applications, and require improved connectivity for data exchange and voltage supply.
Innovation Solution
A control and supply unit with a communication interface for a field bus, such as CAN bus, and a voltage supply connection, integrated into a compact housing with separate connections for redundancy, allowing easy maintenance and compliance with SIIS standards, including a supply and communication assembly with outputs for power and control, and an inert gas atmosphere for protection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the control and supply unit is integrated into the actuating device housing, then the structural design is compact, but the accessibility for maintenance is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The control and supply unit is segmented from the actuating device housing into a separate, independently mountable unit. This allows the control unit to be accessed, removed, or maintained without disassembling the entire actuating device, thereby maintaining compact integration while improving accessibility for maintenance operations.
2Reliability
If separate connections for field bus and voltage supply are implemented, then redundancy and reliability are improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control and supply unit incorporates universal connection interfaces that can handle both field bus data communication and voltage supply functions through standardized connectors. This multi-functional approach provides redundant connection paths for both data and power while maintaining standardized, manageable connection complexity through unified interface design.
3Ease of repair
If the control and supply unit is made easily accessible from outside, then maintenance ease is improved, but the structural design becomes less compact
Solution Approach 1:
The control and supply unit is pre-configured with external access points and standardized connection interfaces that allow maintenance personnel to access and service the unit from outside the actuating device housing. This preliminary design of accessible interfaces maintains the compact overall structure while enabling external maintenance operations without requiring internal disassembly.
Data Source
AI summary
A control and supply unit for an actuating device of a choke, a valve, a blow-up preventer or some other device applied in the field of oil and natural gas production includes at least an auxiliary power supply which is specially rechargeable, and a connecting means used for an exchange of data and/or for the purpose of voltage supply. To improve such a control and supply unit, such that the respective connecting means satisfy a relevant standard and has a compact structural design and is also easily accessible from outside, the control and supply unit includes, as a connecting means, a communication interface for connecting thereto a field bus and a voltage supply connection for connecting thereto a voltage supply line.