Subsea Electronics Oil Immersion Heat Dissipation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional subsea electronics assemblies face challenges in reliability, complexity, and high economic costs due to humidity buildup and the need for thick walls to withstand pressurized oil, which limits heat dissipation and increases operational costs.
Innovation Solution
A shell-based arrangement filled with oil instead of nitrogen, featuring an electronics rack and end cap, allowing for reduced wall thickness and improved heat dissipation, while eliminating the need for complex nitrogen sealing and reducing moisture exposure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the SEM enclosure is filled with nitrogen and sealed to control atmosphere and eliminate humidity, then humidity control is improved, but the enclosure manufacturing becomes complex and wall thickness must be increased to withstand pressurized oil
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the nitrogen atmosphere function and replaces it with direct oil immersion. By removing the sealed nitrogen-filled enclosure, the patent eliminates the complexity of maintaining a controlled atmosphere while still achieving humidity control through the oil medium itself, which excludes moisture from reaching the electronics
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses oil as an inert environment to protect electronics from humidity and corrosion. Instead of using nitrogen gas in a sealed enclosure, the electronics are directly immersed in oil, which provides both cooling and protective functions, eliminating the need for complex sealing and atmosphere control mechanisms
2Strength
If the SEM wall thickness is increased to withstand pressurized oil, then pressure resistance is improved, but heat dissipation capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The invention removes the intermediate sealed enclosure structure entirely, placing electronics directly into the pressurized oil environment. This eliminates the wall thickness constraint while maintaining pressure resistance, as the oil serves as both the pressure medium and the heat dissipation medium, providing direct thermal contact with the electronics
Solution Approach 2:
The oil serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides pressure resistance, heat dissipation, and humidity protection. By making the oil perform all these functions, the patent eliminates the need for separate structural components that would otherwise be required, such as thick walls for pressure resistance and separate cooling systems for heat dissipation
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 enhances reliability and power density, extends service life to 25 years, and decreases construction costs by using oil as a heat conductor and protecting electronics from moisture, outperforming conventional systems.
Implementation Method 1
The pressurized oil is used to dissipate the heat generated from the electronics within the SEM
Implementation Method 2
The whole assembly is then sealed and has to be immersed in pressurized oil
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments presented provide for high reliability and low cost electronics used in hydrocarbon recovery operations. In embodiments, the low cost electronics are used in subsea applications.